In Possession of Darkness
by Gater101
Summary: A story of betrayal, anger, deceit and the inevitable.
1. Prologue

**Authour's Note**: _It seems that, in my haste to add this story that I forgot you guys don't know how I write my fan fiction... Lol. The first piece is always a prologue, set in the future of the story then I bring it back to the beginning... As for a timeline, this story happens instead of Attack of the Clones but many events of AotC do happen... I can't say much more without giving too much of the story away... I do hope you enoy this and thank you._

**Prologue**

Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi sat in an exhausted perch beside his young, unconscious Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. His broken foot rested helplessly on a foot stool, the mending bones throbbing; his charred skin burned furiously under his bacta bandages. His black and blue hooded eyes were mere slits on his otherwise bandaged face. His ribs ached with every shuddering breath he took.

But none of those pains could compare to that in his soul. The unfamiliar and unwanted chasm that had suddenly split his body in two when he saw his young Padawan, his best friend… his saviour, lying motionless on a bed in the medi-center - it had almost floored him. A vast emptiness that he had never experienced before the previous six months. Six months of darkness and pain, where the only light had been Anakin, even in his darkest moments.

Seeing Anakin hooked up to so many different machines, droids coming and going every standard half hour to make sure that his friend was going to make it through the night (something they still weren't sure of) had only served to remind him of his failure to heal him. He was by no means a healer but his anger and hatred towards the Dark Lord who had held them for so long had clouded his mind and he had been unable to reach out to the Force for aid. It was something that he and Anakin had discussed only briefly in the few minutes where they were allowed to be in the same cell. The Force was no longer with them.

He remembered seeing Anakin change, become weaker, an aura presenting itself around him. Failure. Defeat. Hatred. Anger. Every emotion that Obi-Wan himself was feeling, knowing that he shouldn't be feeling it, that it was against the very code that he had sworn his life to. But how could he not hate the people… the beasts that were slowly taking his soul away, torturing him, killing them both so there was hardly anything left of the people, the good that they had been when they had first been captured?

And the Jedi… his people… he was beginning to feel hatred for them too, had felt the mistrust swarming off of Anakin too when he first saw Master Windu and a number of younger Knights. How could they trust in those who had taken so long to free them from their death cells? Surely they could have come sooner, as soon as they knew that the two had been captured. He knew they could have and to him, there was to be no absolution, no reasons behind this great deceit, this great failure of the brotherhood of Jedi Knights.

He only had one brother and because of the very people he had sworn to serve, to protect, that brother was lying on a medi-center bed with an artificial arm half attached, a breathing tube down his throat, machines pumping blood through his body because his heart wasn't strong enough to do it on it's own. His lungs were being held open only by small implanted spheres that contracted to allow air in. His body was badly burned, perhaps even more so than Obi-Wan's, but he couldn't be sure. Both would be scarred, regardless of the bacta treatment they received.

Several of his friend's had been in, to try and convince him to eat, to sleep, to take a respite from his vigil over Anakin's bedside but he refused. The Senator from Naboo, who he had looked after with his Padawan days before they had been captured had appeared too by his side at some point. She had tried to convince him, just like Master's Yoda, Windu and Mundi before her that injuring himself further would do no one any good, least of all Anakin when he did eventually waken. But her he could forgive, if he really wanted to, for her naivety… but the others… No. Impossible.

He knew that it was unbecoming for him to be thinking such things but how could he not? His life had been destroyed in the past few months. The Dark Side had permeated from everywhere and it had smothered him, pulling him, calling to him…

His life was not worth living if Anakin didn't make it through this trial that the Force had thrown in their path. He reached a hand out and brushed a straggly hair away from Anakin's face. He hung his head, defeated.

He could feel Anakin's life slowly draining away. His brother was dying and taking him as he went.


	2. Part 1

**Author's Note**: _I put a wee author's note up about timeline in the prologue, and I also fixed a few grammatical errors that I saw on a read-through but none of the plot lines or any of the sentences have changed lol. This is us back at the beginning of the story, how it all started._

_As for the posting of this story, I'm trying to write chapters in advance and hopefully will post one or two a week. A Thursday if it's once a week, or a Monday and Friday if it's twice a week. If I don't stick to that, you can all feel free to bash me on the head and send me threatening e-mails because I really like the idea behind this story and want to share it with you all. Thank you for your reviews and I hope you enjoy this as much as me._

**Part One**

Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker looked in the full length mirror in his diminutive quarters within the glorious Jedi Temple on the planet of Coruscant. His maroon robes hung over his body in a familiar fashion, covered by his black tunic which was held together at the waist by his brown belt, on which hung his newly completed lightsaber. Smiling, he reached his hand down to his latest creative accomplishment and felt the pride swarming through his body. He remembered the feeling of pride that had come from his master, Obi-Wan Kenobi when he had finally shown him the completed weapon.

He did this every morning, making sure he looked impeccably presentable for the Jedi Council. And he had to make even more of an effort for his meeting that day since the newly appointed Council Member was to be sitting on the Council for their first meeting. He didn't understand why he was so nervous about this meeting, he knew Shaak Ti from his training but… He hadn't had the best of night's sleep the night before thinking about Mawar, about Yaddle and how she had died for him. He knew that that was part of the reason why he was striving for perfection that morning. Shaak Ti was Yaddle's replacement member. He shook his head, trying to clear the images of Yaddle's body covered in radiation sores from the chemical weapon she had absorbed. When he found Granta Omega he would take great pleasure in capturing him and bringing him before the Jedi Council.

He studied his reflection and nodded slightly. His Padawan braid was long, hanging over his shoulder, the rest of his hair becoming unruly. But, if what his master had been saying was true, he would be able to take the trials within the next year and he had a certain… image he wanted for when he became a Jedi Knight, had ever since he had first entered the Jedi Temple. He had even chosen his robes and tunic years before based on the image he wanted to create. His hair would be longer, hanging down to at least his neck. In his head, the image was slightly menacing and yet… He smiled and shook his head. If Obi-Wan could see how he was acting he would no doubt taunt him for being vain for the rest of the day, if not the standard week.

The orange orb was beginning to rise over the Coruscant horizon and he turned to the small south facing window to watch it rise over the rest of the planet. It only took eleven standard minutes for the trough of the sphere to clear the distant skyline and he was ready early. He always was. Ever since his first days in the Jedi temple eleven years ago, he had stood at this very window and watched over the awakening city. Though the city was never really asleep to become awake but the lines of space vehicles high above became busier with commuters, workers. There wasn't a day when he was on Coruscant that he hadn't been stood at this window watching the sun rise. Not for the first time, he wondered if Obi-Wan knew about this little obsession. And again he didn't see how it was relevant.

He stood in the same spot as his room erupted in fire as the sun blazed through the window, lighting even the darkest corners of Anakin's soul, warming through the chill in his body that came only at nightfall. Every night, his thoughts wandered to his mother whom he had left as a slave on Tatooine to join the Jedi, never once forgetting his promise to return to his home and free all the slaves there. He remembered Qui-Gon Jinn, too and felt a slight ache in his chest. An ache that had diminished with his training but had never truly left him. And now he had Master Yaddle's death to add to the ever-increasing list. He didn't know how Master Yoda could handle the oppressiveness and emptiness of the Force at times like these.

He ducked his head down for a moment in remembrance of those who had fallen with the rise of the Sith. He knew that the Knights and the Council were concerned, much more than they were letting on. They were concerned, too, about the attacks on the Naboo senator's life, attacks that had made headlines on the holonet.

He smiled slightly. He hadn't seen Padmé for more than a decade and he wondered if she was any less beautiful. Or any more so, though of that he was doubtful. He remembered asking her if she was an angel from the moons of Iego and every time that memory passed in his mind, he cringed. He had to continually remind himself that he was just a boy then and that she had no doubt forgotten about him, regardless of the silly Jappor Snippet pendant he had carved for her. He shook his head mirthfully, wondering at his younger self.

He checked the chrono on the wall to his left and noticed that Obi-Wan was uncharacteristically late. Frowning, he moved to the door to his chambers and opened them with the intention of going to look for his errant Master. When the doors opened completely he took a startled step backwards. On the other side of the door stood an irritated Obi-Wan.

"Master?" Anakin asked as he breathed a sigh of relief, trying to dissipate the adrenaline running through his body.

Obi-Wan raised both his eyebrows but did not unfold the arms he had crossed over his chest or move his shoulder away from the wall he was propped up against.

"Yes Anakin, I've been waiting for five standard minutes. What took you so long?"

The younger of the two men looked confused as he turned back to the chrono, double checking the time. He must have been so lost in his thoughts that he missed his Master's call and his approach. It was an unfortunate ability that he and his Master had, of sensing one another's approach and so it made it highly difficult for Anakin to sneak up on his Master. Though, it seemed his Master was getting better at shielding himself from Anakin these days.

Confused, he conceded to his Master and reached out for his cloak. He loved the feel of it swooshing behind him, fanning out as he walked down the corridors. In the temple, it had no effect but outside the temple, people stopped and stared at him and his Master and he felt important. He liked to feel important. What he didn't like though, was the look on his Master's face right at that moment of time.

Obi-Wan, Anakin had been realising, was looking tired in the mornings, as though he was not getting enough sleep but whenever Anakin had questioned him about it, the older man brushed him off. He had initially put it down to the same weight that had been on his mind lately, of Mawar and trying to find Granta but there was something else, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He knew that if it was anything important he would know, would feel it through the connection he and his Master shared. Or he hoped so, at least.

Anakin fell into step beside his Master as they made their way through the vast temple towards the Jedi Council Chambers. The room was at the top of the first spire that stood south west of the Temple Spire on the great architectural vision of Coruscant. The temple itself was amazing. When he had been a young boy he had felt dwarfed by it's size, by the towering walls and pillars and he had wondered how he would ever come to call this place home. The feeling of being dwarfed had not vanished as he had grown, as the temple itself seemed to outgrow any foot of height a person may achieve. He liked the feeling of being small in this place. It felt safe, like the temple was a mother protecting all of it's children. It felt as though the Force itself was holding the walls together, keeping all of the good in and all of the bad out.

Anakin was not so naïve as to not notice the way the Masters whispered in the corners about the growth of the Dark Side, nor did he miss the way that many of the Jedi Knights didn't return from simple, routine missions. He felt the emptiness in the Force, felt as though a huge vacuum had opened within the Force every time one of it's children was taken away from their mortal life.

He wondered if the Force would cry for him, if he died.

_There is no death. There is only the Force._

He remembered his Master's preaching's but he often wondered sometimes. He didn't feel Qui-Gon in the Force, or any of the other Jedi who had fallen.

Even he could feel the shreds of Darkness seeping it's way into the every day lives of the Jedi and the people of the galaxy. He wondered if any of the other Padawans felt it, or if it was only his enhanced Force sensitivity that allowed him to feel it.

"The Council wants to send us to Naboo, I sense. To protect Senator Amidala from these attacks on her life. As if there is not any thing else we can attend ourselves to."

It was not often that Anakin heard his Master talking about the Council, or even disagreeing with them and so he was a little perturbed by Obi-Wan's words. It was simply another reason to add to the list of why Anakin was worried about his Master. Obi-Wan _never _disagreed with the Council, never vocally anyway. He just wished he had the courage to question his master further.

"Perhaps that is not why they have called us, Master," Anakin countered, trying to dispel his Master's mood. It didn't seem to do any good however as Obi-Wan shot his Padawan a withering glare.

"Anakin…" The word came out on a groan as Obi-Wan stopped and reached up to the bridge of his nose and squeezed, his face clenching in obvious discomfort. Anakin could see he was holding his breath and he reached out and touched Obi-Wan's shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

"Can't you feel that Anakin?"

Anakin straightened and closed his eyes, reaching out to the Force hoping that he would sense whatever it was his Master was sensing. It wasn't often that Obi-Wan sensed anything in the Force as greatly as this and when he did, Anakin usually felt it just as strongly. But the sensation that Obi-Wan was feeling… Anakin couldn't sense anything at all. All he could sense was the peace and tranquillity that always seemed to ooze from the temple walls.

"I do not sense anything, Master," he replied cautiously, waiting for the wrath of his Master but it never came.

Obi-Wan straightened up and lowered his hand, his eyes focussing on Anakin's face.

"Anakin, I sense something is wrong. I… I can't explain it. Whenever I stand at this spot in the temple I feel… I feel like the Force has disappeared and I am empty. Like someone has literally sucked my inner organs out through the tiny pores on my back… I…" Obi-Wan shook his head to clear his thoughts and Anakin could see the older man's grey eyes clear slightly. "I'm probably just imagining it."

Anakin nodded slightly, though he never once took his eyes off of his Master as he began walking again. It was only when Obi-Wan turned to him with an exasperated look on his face and ushered Anakin towards him that the young Jedi moved and caught up with his Master.

Something was definitely wrong with his Master, his friend and he had to figure out exactly what it was.

Anakin and Obi-Wan stood in the centre of the Jedi Council Chambers and looked into the faces of the Council members who were seated in a circle around the room. As Master Windu spoke of the intricate details of the Master and Padawan's last mission, Anakin's gaze drifted to the large window that covered half of the window in the round room, offering a one hundred and eighty degree view of the city underneath. The sun that he watched rise above the hill was well and truly in the sky now, blazing through the window and casting long shadows onto the floor. He sighed slightly and refocused his gaze back into the room and was met with Master Yoda's mossy eyes. He blinked in surprise and tried to look interested in what Windu was saying but the small green Master had noticed his inattention.

"Boring you, are we, young Skywalker?" His gravely voice asked as he stamped his gimmer stick lightly on the floor.

Anakin tried to look reasonably chastised and innocent all at once as he glanced down to the floor quickly before turning his gaze to where Master Yaddle should have been sitting, her small body perched atop one of the large chairs. But she wasn't. And she never would be again. Anakin shook his head again and raised his eyes to Yoda.

"No, Master."

"Betray you, your feelings do. Contain them, you must." Yoda's head bowed slightly, like an old man trying to chastise his grandson. Or, in Yoda's case, his great, great, great grandson.

Anakin barely refrained from rolling his eyes, instead looking to his Master who was clearly trying to contain his humour at the situation. This time, Anakin did roll his eyes at the irony of the situation. It had been only the previous night that Obi-Wan had issued the same speech to Anakin during what was supposed to be their meditating time.

When Anakin turned his eyes back to Yoda, he caught the Wise One's ears dipping as his eyes looked to the place Anakin's had been. Anakin felt for Yoda, who had lost a great friend and the only other member of the Jedi Order who came from their mysterious home world.

"Yes, Master. I apologise." And this time he meant it. He only hoped Yoda knew for what it was exactly that he was apologising.

Master Windu, who Anakin always thought didn't hold very much regard for Anakin, had an expression on his face that spoke of his unhappiness with the young Padawan. It seemed that no matter what Anakin did, it was always wrong in Mater Windu's eyes.

"Is there something else that you would like us to discuss, young Skywalker?"

Anakin's smile was tight as he acknowledged Windu with a polite shake of the head.

"No, Master."

"Very well then." There was a slight pause in the room as the Council spoke amongst themselves.

Anakin could feel the discomfort coming from his Master, as they both shuffled their feet lightly on the elaborate floor. The council chambers had always awed Anakin, much like everything Jedi related, in their elaborate tranquillity. He loved the way the large tiled design on the floor spread out under his feet, the way that the sun backlit the events in the room, illuminating the Master's of the Force as they deliberated over the fate of the galaxy. Anakin only hoped that one day, a young Padawan would be experiencing those exact same thoughts about Anakin as he sat in one of the chairs around the room. It was the dream of every Knight, to become a Master of the Force and sit on the Jedi Council, although such thoughts of grandeur were discouraged.

"Your next mission should hopefully be less eventful than your last," Windu continued and Anakin smirked slightly. The Jedi hated drawing attention to themselves but ever since Anakin and Obi-Wan had started going on missions together, attention was always one thing that was never lacking after a mission. It was something that neither of the two Jedi appreciated as it usually came as a result of a near death experience, even on the most peaceful of missions. Obi-Wan had said that Anakin drew trouble, no matter where he went, whether it be from a farm yard animal that turned against them (like what happened on Japino) or a little… altercation at a space-port like one of their last mission where Anakin had accidentally gambled their ship - and lost. "You will be assigned to protect Senator Amidala and attempt to discover who is behind these attempts on her life."

Beside him, Obi-Wan tutted and murmured something under his breath that Anakin didn't quite catch. He knew that it would not have been a pleasant remark.

"Senator Amidala does not welcome this protection and considers it an imposition so, please, be invisible," Windu concluded and Anakin knew the last comment was directed towards him.

He found it strange that he had been thinking about Padmé only that morning and now he would be seeing her very soon. He felt a chill run down his back that caused him to shiver in anticipation. He shook the feeling off. He wasn't a little boy any more. He was a Jedi, soon to become a Knight, if Obi-Wan was right. Which, Anakin grudgingly admitted, he usually was.

"If the Senator finds it such an imposition why are we to go? It is difficult enough trying to protect someone, let alone someone who believes they don't need protecting."

Anakin spun and gawked at Obi-Wan. It was usually _he _who was the one questioning the basis of missions, not Obi-Wan. Although his point was valid, Anakin still could not believe what he was hearing from his usually calm and tight lipped Master. He looked to the Council Members whose faces showed a similar amount of shock, except one. Yoda's expression was grim, but not with anger. It looked to Anakin that Yoda was worried about something, his mossy eyes half covered by his lids, his lips pressed into a tight line.

And this worried Anakin. If Yoda was worrying about his Master then their was definitely something to worry about.

_If only Obi-Wan's shields weren't so strong…_

"Knight Kenobi, with you I will speak before you depart," Yoda murmured.

Anakin could feel Obi-Wan's shoulders sag, feel him deflating next to him. Anakin prodded at his friend's mind, trying to get a sense of what he was feeling but he was met with a strong brick wall. He sighed and turned back to the meeting.

"Your mission details are stored on this crystal," Windu pulled a data crystal from under his maroon robes and held it out for Obi-Wan to take. "You depart within the hour."

Both Anakin and Obi-Wan bowed respectfully before turning to leave the room.

"And may the Force be with you."

"And with you," both departing Jedi replied.


	3. Part 2

A/N: I know the update is a day early, but I will be out of the house all day and night tomorrow and unable to update tomorrow... since the next chapter was already finished, I thought I'd post it early rather than later. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Still don't own any of Star Wars :)

**Part 2**

Obi-Wan Kenobi sat in his darkened bed chambers in a vain attempt to reach some point of meditation. It was futile though as his body knew that he had to be leaving soon and that Master Yoda wanted to speak with him before then. Still, it was good to rest his eyes. He could feel the tension in his shoulders relaxing, as though someone were massaging them, covering him in a warm liquid, filling him up from his toes to his head. His head became light and he could feel the tendrils of the Force seeping into his consciousness, comforting him in its familiarity. It had been too long since he had last felt the Force in such a welcoming environment.

He knew that it wasn't just him, that many of his fellow Knights were finding it difficult to connect completely with the Force. They all felt weak and defeated and he wondered if the others were having similar restless nights. It was rare because even as a Youngling, Obi-Wan had been known for his calm centre and his adherence to the Code and so now that he was troubled and known to question the Code, many had started to question him. Most of all, his Padawan, Anakin. He felt for the boy, he really did as Obi-Wan knew he was being unfair to the younger man. It wasn't right that a Master should be the one having troubles with mastering the Force. Obi-Wan's defences couldn't be held against Anakin's probing mind forever. He didn't want to hide this from him but it was something that the Master's had ordered that the teachers hide from their pupils.

The Dark Side was shrouding their use of the Force. The younger ones would simply acclaim it to themselves but the older Jedi knew that this wasn't the case and they would soon figure it out. Obi-Wan was surprised that Anakin hadn't figured it out yet. But then, Obi-Wan realised, perhaps it was because Anakin was the "Chosen One" that he had so far not succumbed to the oppressing feelings that Obi-Wan had.

Every night when he closed his eyes, he saw visions of a burning Jedi Temple on the Coruscant skyline, a hooded man, yellow eyes and a metallic arm crushing the neck of a young, faceless woman. He had never dreamed, let alone had nightmares. It was something that he had tried to teach Anakin about when Anakin had come to him, asking about nightmares he'd had about his mother.

_Dreams pass, in time._

Obi-Wan wondered if these dreams would pass in time. He hoped they would, knew that they wouldn't. He'd been meaning to speak with Master Yoda about the dreams but that would mean questions about things he didn't wish to discuss. But it seemed like his abrupt manner had not gone quite as unnoticed as he had hoped.

He saw himself sitting in a cross legged position in the middle of his room, a warm ember glowing from him as he reached out to the Force for peace and patience. He felt his mind chasing tranquillity and the glow around him dissipated. Letting out an exasperated breath of air, he stood up quickly and brushed his robes down.

"Force, help me," he sighed as he rubbed a weary hand down his face and he scrubbed at his bearded chin. What he wouldn't give for even just a standard hour of unspoiled sleep.

He squeezed out of the door as it slid open and made his way towards Master Yoda's room on the other side of the Temple, taking great care to avoid the entrance corridor.

* * *

- 

When he approached Master Yoda's quarters, he felt the Force hit him like a warm welcoming wave. He always liked spending time in Yoda's quarter's because it felt as though the little green alien was the very root of the willow tree of the Force and that branches were reaching off of him, sheltering it's young. Obi-Wan wondered, not for the first time, if anyone would ever match Yoda's ability in the Force, Sith or otherwise. He shuddered to think if that ever happened. The Dark Side was powerful enough without such mastery.

The doors slid open before him and he peered into the darkened room. The lights had been dimmed and Obi-Wan could hear the faint hum of a lightsaber coming from the back of the room.

"Enter, Obi-Wan," he heard Yoda's hoarse voice from the opposite end of the room and he stepped fully inside the doorway.

His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness in the room but the green spear that waved about in the air was unmistakable. He smiled slightly as the lights slowly came on and illuminated the room. It was only when his eyes turned towards Yoda's form again that he almost choked on his own saliva. He chuckled mirthfully at the sight before him - the great Master Yoda had one of the training helmets on his head that they used to teach the Younglings how to feel in the Force. Since Yoda was smaller than many of the younglings that Obi-Wan knew he taught, the helmet was too large for his head. The sight was quite something.

Obi-Wan contained his humour but he knew Yoda could feel his mirth, as the Wise One carefully took the helmet off and tucked his chin high under his upper lip, in an attempt to look grim. He reached out with his left hand and his gimmer stick flew to him. He placed it on the ground and began hobbling towards Obi-Wan.

"Days without a sparring partner, too many I have had. Keep my reflexes up, I must," Yoda explained as he stopped a few short feet away from Obi-Wan, forcing him to look down at the twenty six standard inch frame of the greatest warrior the Jedi had ever known. Obi-Wan simply smiled and followed slowly behind Yoda as he began moving towards two chairs conveniently placed at the window. Once they were settled in, Yoda leaned to the side and folded his hands together, one on top of the other. "Much disturbance I sense within you, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan looked to his feet, feeling ashamed of himself at being spoken to by Master Yoda like he was a young Padawan again. He hated feeling insecure but it was the Force that was causing this feeling within him, he felt as though it was deserting him and he hated the feeling of abandonment.

"Sensed it, have you, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Wan looked up and searched Yoda's eyes for whatever it was that he was supposed to have sensed. But he already knew.

Obi-Wan nodded and his eyes instantly turned towards the window to look over the gardens below. Yoda had the most tranquil room in the entire building and Obi-Wan knew that the old one was more than deserving. Having become a Knight and then a Master in such a short space of time, Yoda had had his fair share of experiences - both good and bad - in his eight hundred and sixty seven years. There was a shroud of mystery surrounding Yoda but it was the sort that borne many great fantasy stories and excited the Younglings, the kind that should never be unravelled. It was well known that the alien, whose home world was unknown, had one of the greatest sense of humours in the entire Temple. He was known to be strict but only because he held the Force in such reverence and hated it being used wrongly that he demanded such perfection from his Younglings. Obi-Wan knew first-hand of Yoda's strive for perfection, having been taught for many years by the little one before Qui-Gon had taken over.

He felt a stab at his chest and he looked back to Yoda, who was looking at him with his ever knowing eyes.

"On your mind, something else is, young Kenobi."

Obi-Wan wasn't offended at being referred to as young. He knew it was meant as a type of endearment.

Obi-Wan nodded again and looked down to his hands that were clutching at his robes. He cleared his throat and looked up to Yoda again and met his gaze.

"I've been having dreams… visions, I think. And…"

Yoda waited for a moment to see if Obi-Wan would continue and when he didn't Yoda spoke again.

"Dreams pass, in time."

Obi-Wan laughed without any happiness. It was a gruff sound and he shook his head.

"I've been trying to tell myself that. Trying to teach it to Anakin but… How can I teach something that I don't have faith in anymore, Master?" Obi-Wan felt his chest tighten. He hadn't meant to question the Force or the Jedi Order and he had managed to do so with one sentence.

But Yoda didn't look angry, he looked like he understood.

"Fallen the shroud of the Dark Side has. Lies, deceit, mistrust it creates. Twists the mind, it does." Obi-Wan nodded, not fully comprehending. He wasn't weak minded and it seemed like Yoda was accusing him so. "In your dreams, what do you see?"

Obi-Wan contemplated how much to tell the Master. Would he find him ridiculous for even thinking these things, thinking that he could see things in the future? He knew he wasn't as Force sensitive as some and so the idea that he was having premonitions was ridiculous, even to him.

"Recently, I've been seeing… this is ridiculous." He looked up to Yoda who frowned at him and made a 'continue' gesture. Obi-Wan did, grudgingly. "Well… It doesn't make any sense, any of it. But I see a figure, he has a hood pulled down covering his face, like a Jedi has when he's trying to stay hidden. But it's not a Jedi, at least I don't think so. It doesn't feel like a Jedi. But he's powerful, in the Force and in general. I… I think whoever it is I'm seeing is the Sith Lord. It feels like he is looking for something…" Obi-Wan trailed off and looked up and shook his head. He didn't know how to continue.

"Or someone, perhaps?" Yoda spoke after a few moments silence.

Obi-Wan nodded enthusiastically. Yes, that was the feeling he'd been experiencing. Like he was trying to find something inside someone, so he could continue his plans. A weakness, a way to win them over. But he felt like he recognised the Force signature of the individual standing before him, and he told Yoda so.

"Someone you know, this Sith is, you think?"

Obi-Wan paused slightly and shook his head.

"It's just a dream."

"Is it?" Obi-Wan looked at the knowing smile of Master Yoda and he felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips.

"You know who the Sith Lord is, Master Yoda?"

Yoda shook his head from side to side and formed a tight line with his lips as he closed his eyes.

"Be here we would not, if that I knew." Obi-Wan nodded and felt himself relax slightly.

"There's something else… something that I don't want to… I see a metal arm - it has a glove on it but I know that it's metal, somehow - I see it using the Force around a young woman's neck… she's pregnant…" He filtered off towards the end in confusion. In his visions he hadn't sensed that she was pregnant but it felt natural to say. He knew it was right.

"Know who these people are, do you?"

"Yes. Well, one of them, I'm sure. The other one I'm not so sure of."

Yoda looked at him and held his gaze for a few moments, trying to convey a sense of comfort to the younger Knight. Obi-Wan couldn't help but feel that Yoda was trying to convey something else to him as well but the Force wouldn't allow him to grasp onto the thoughts currently passing through the air.

"Always in motion, the future is," Yoda said finally, knowingly, with a hint of understanding seeping into his voice. "Through the Force, things you will see. Other places. The future… the past. Confusing, it can be. Trust in the Force you must, Obi-Wan, or to the Dark Side you will go." Yoda thrust his gimmer stick into the ground to emphasise his words.

Obi-Wan nodded gratefully, the words that should have instilled fear into him left him only with a sense of comfort. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something that Yoda wasn't telling him but he put it aside for the moment.

He looked to the chrono he had tucked into his belt - he knew he would have to bring it, Yoda had no time keeping devices in his quarters and he didn't keep any with him either.

"_Take me where I need to be and when, the Force will."_

Obi-Wan only wished that he was as confident in the Force as Master Yoda was. But he supposed that Yoda's self imprisonment for a century had done it's duty. He had mastered the Force and the whole galaxy knew it.

"I must leave, if I am to make it to Naboo on time, Master," Obi-Wan said reluctantly. As much as he had dreaded facing Yoda, he was enjoying his time with him. He felt more relaxed and at peace than he had in months. He guessed that must have been why Yoda had told him to come to his quarter's, instead of to one of the spire's where they usually discussed these things.

Yoda truly was the wisest being in all of the galaxy.

-

* * *

"You're late!" Obi-Wan called out to Anakin as he saw his Padawan rushing down the corridor towards the hangar where the space cruiser they were going to be travelling in was waiting. 

He saw the younger man falter and turn towards the voice, before a smile broke out on his face.

"So are you, my Master."

Anakin waited until Obi-Wan was beside him before resuming walking again and for that, Obi-Wan was glad. He didn't have the energy to run to the young man who would no doubt start a sprint in a race to beat his Master to the hangar.

"Well, I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for my lateness," Obi-Wan replied contritely, with the slightest amount of humour lacing his words.

"As have I," Anakin replied and Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow mockingly.

"Oh? Was the fanfare awaiting you outside your door again?" Obi-Wan laughed and he had to admit, it felt good. It had taken years for him and Anakin to accomplish a camaraderie, what with the younger man's arrogance, petulance and penchant for mischief but when it had arrived it had been strong. Or it had been, until Obi-Wan had started having dreams and becoming withdrawn.

Anakin rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Actually, I was visiting Chancellor Palpatine, he requested my audience after the meeting with the council."

Obi-Wan frowned at this. He had known that Anakin and the Chancellor were close and had been for years but the Chancellor's place in the boy's life was causing a great deal of unrest within Obi-Wan. He had thought it was might be because the boy actually listened to the Chancellor and Obi-Wan was slightly perturbed by this but as time had wore on it had become something more. Politicians were not to be trusted, Obi-Wan had learned that years before but especially not Palpatine. He didn't know why Anakin's finely tuned Jedi senses didn't pick up on it and Obi-Wan assumed it was something to do with personal feelings.

He would have to speak with his Padawan about that again once they had the time.

"Really? And what did he want?"

Anakin smirked at Obi-Wan slightly. Obi-Wan didn't try to hide the fact that he didn't trust politicians.

"He was telling me of his plans to take over the Senate and control the galaxy," Anakin said and Obi-Wan barked out a laugh, imagining that such thoughts would not be far from many Senator's minds. "He just wanted to wish me well on my journey and say hello to Senator Amidala for him."

Obi-Wan noticed the way that Anakin's voice quietened slightly as he spoke the senator's name and he smiled. He remembered the crush that Anakin had had on the young queen a decade before. He found it hard to believe sometimes that the young man standing before him was the same boy they had discovered on a desert Blackwater Planet. He may not have matured in his personality in many ways but he had certainly grown. He stood at least a foot over Obi-Wan's frame - and Obi-Wan was not a short man. His bright blue eyes held a maturity and pain in them that was not present in any of the other Padawan's eyes at such an age. Even some of the Knights hadn't seen as much hardship as Anakin over the years.

"Ah," was all Obi-Wan said as they entered into the hangar and saw Master Windu and Master Poof waiting for them at the flight pad.

"Were you with Master Yoda?" Anakin asked quietly as they made their way towards the two waiting Jedi Masters.

Obi-Wan turned to him and nodded slightly before focussing on Mace and Yarael before him, not wanting to discuss the events of his meeting with Yoda just yet.

"We have received word that the Senator was the victim of yet another attack on her life. Her decoy was killed in the incident. She was returning from a peaceful meeting with Senator Organa on Alderaan."

Obi-Wan could feel the anxiety rise within his Padawan and he tried to send waves of calmness to him but it was difficult when whatever calmness he had reached in Yoda's quarter's was slowly diminishing.

"The Senator is fine, though she now realises that maybe your influence on her security will not be such an imposition."

Obi-Wan let out a breath of air. It would have done Anakin no good to be told that Padmé had been injured, or worse killed, before he had gotten to see her. He would have to speak to his Padawan about that also.

He rolled his eyes. He had a lot to speak with his Padawan about.

"May the Force be with you," Poof said as he and Windu began making their way back towards the main Jedi temple.

Anakin and Obi-Wan entered the ship and Anakin went directly to the flight controls. Obi-Wan was about to protest but thought better of it. If Anakin was flying, they would reach Naboo sooner and then they could be done with their mission quicker.

And besides, he didn't think Anakin would mind if Obi-Wan took a few hours to rest his mind in quiet meditation.

In the doorway to the flight deck, Master Yoda watched the ship take off into the Coruscant skyline. His expression was grim as he felt the signatures of Skywalker and Kenobi get further and further away.

He sighed loudly and lowered his head and ears.

Great danger he sensed in their future.


	4. Part 3

The air around them as they exited the ship was thick and heavy, though the sky was clear. Anakin felt like the Force was pushing down on his shoulders, warning him of something that he couldn't quite feel. He turned to Obi-Wan who had at that moment turned to him. They shared a knowing look before walking down the exit ramp to the awaiting group of people.

"Master Kenobi, Padawan Skywalker, a pleasure to see you," the man who looked like the leader of the group spoke to them as he moved towards them. Anakin's eyes immediately scanned the man at the same time his senses reached out and probed the man's mind. He was dark skinned, with an eye patch covering one of his eyes and was wearing the Nubian security guard red outfit. "I am Captain Typho, head security officer to Senator Amidala. We thought it best she stay indoors while we came out to meet you."

Anakin felt Obi-Wan nod beside him and he nodded too, a smile forming on his face.

"I can't imagine the Senator would have been too pleased with that," Obi-Wan spoke and Anakin's grin widened.

Typho laughed and shook his head.

"No, she was not. I don't know about the Senator, but I for one am glad you are here." Anakin smiled lightly and moved further down the ramp, anxious to see the girl who had stolen his nine-year-old heart. "If you would like to follow me, I will take you to the Senator."

Obi-Wan stepped in front of Anakin and laid a hand on his shoulder, effectively stopping the younger man from moving. Anakin caught his eye and knew what his Master was going to say long before he opened his mouth.

"Be mindful of your feelings, Anakin. They betray you."

Anakin smiled bashfully and patted Obi-Wan's hand as it rested on his shoulder. Anakin had never known Obi-Wan to sleep whilst on their way to a mission but that had been what he had done as soon as they had read the data on the crystal data-reader and watched some reports on the holonet. Speculation was that it was once again the Trade Federation who was behind the attacks. Others suggested that it was enemies in the Senate, trying to sway Amidala to their side to build an army of the Republic. The last report they had watched had been recorded outside the Jedi Temple and detailed their mission to protect the Senator. Neither Anakin nor Obi-Wan had been particularly pleased at that, as they did not like the idea that Padmé's enemies knew that two Jedi were to protect her. On the other hand, as Obi-Wan had later pointed out, it could work to their advantage, as many - especially in the Senate - would not attack whilst she was under the watchful eye of two Jedi.

Anakin had to admit though, that the dark cloud that had been hanging over his Master did seem to have thinned a little and he looked much more rested and calm than Anakin had seen him in many weeks, if not months. He wanted to know what he and Yoda had spoken about but didn't want to press the matter, as he could sense that he did not want to discuss that matter. And that upset him. What could his Master have to say to Yoda that he could not say to Anakin?

"It is a good thing that it is only you who can sense my feelings, isn't it?" He chuckled softly as he wandered past his Master, trying to keep the spring from his step. The last thing he needed was to have his Master think that he still had a crush on the beautiful senator.

* * *

"You're sweating!" Obi-Wan sounded almost incredulous as he pointed out the younger man's perspiration. Anakin had felt his forehead dampen slightly and had hoped, ridiculously, that Obi-Wan would not notice in their cramped glass elevator. "Calm down, young one," Obi-Wan continued with a calmness in his voice that had been missing recently.

Anakin took in a deep cooling breath and wiped at his forehead with his cloak. The elevators were big enough only for two passengers. Captain Typho had gone up with one of his guards to inform the senator that Anakin and Obi-Wan were on their way. He could feel his heart rate increase slightly and he tried to calm it, closing his eyes and trying for a quick meditation. But to no avail. The higher the elevator rose, the higher his anxiety grew. He knew his reaction was ridiculous. She was only a woman, he rationalised internally but nothing seemed to be helping. Maybe she wouldn't recognise him. He didn't know what he would do if she didn't recognise him.

"I haven't seen her for ten years, Master." He hadn't meant to speak and when he saw the grin trying to take over Obi-Wan's face, he wished he hadn't. "This is not a time to be laughing."

Obi-Wan let out a startled laugh at that and eyed his Padawan. Anakin could feel the humour rolling off Obi-Wan in waves and he rolled his eyes as he readjusted his robe.

"I haven't seen you this tense since we fell into that nest of Gundarks," Obi-Wan told him as he tried to sustain his laughter.

Anakin's jaw dropped as he let out an airy scoff, his eyes wide and staring incredulously at his Master.

"It was _you _who fell into that nightmare, Master, and I jumped in and rescued you, remember?"

He remembered that mission well. It was when he and Obi-Wan had been forced together into a situation that had made them address the problems between them. Anakin remembered how Obi-Wan had told him that he was arrogant, bull-headed and too proud for his own good, while Anakin had told his Master that he was boring, full of himself and not particularly funny. They had stared at each other for minutes, neither realising the nest below them coming alive. Then they had laughed before battling through the thousands of rudely awakened Gundarks that seemed to spew from every corner of the dirt-ridden hole. On the ship on the way back to Coruscant, they had talked easily and Anakin had been glad. He'd never had someone he could really relate to before.

Obi-Wan laughed again and Anakin thought in that moment that he would never tire of hearing his Master's soft laugh, especially after not having heard it for so long.

"Ah yes…" He chuckled a few more times, no doubt reminiscing over their times together, as Anakin had been. "Nevertheless, my young Padawan-"

"Yes, Master."

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"I knew what you were going to say."

"How could you possibly have known what I was going to say?"

"You only ever say three things following 'my young Padawan' and two of them are not appropriate in this context. So, it had to be the third and, yes Master, I know."

Anakin smirked slightly as he snuck a sidelong glance at the silenced negotiator. He could see Obi-Wan's mouth opening and closing before finally snapping shut with an audible click. The remaining seconds of the elevator ride passed in companionable silence and Anakin knew that Obi-Wan was still trying to think of a comeback. The elevator juddered to a stop and Anakin felt an evanescent stirring in the air around them. His hand automatically reached for his lightsaber that was hanging, as always, from his belt. From the corner of his eye, he saw Obi-Wan do the same. Adrenaline thundered through his veins, the same way it always did when his fingers touched to cold metal of his lightsaber. He could see Typho, Phada, Dormé, Jar-Jar Binks and Padmé. Nothing seemed to be amiss, all of their auras surrounding only by light.

But something still wasn't right. It was distant and yet…

He could sense his Master relax as the doors slid open before them. Each took a moment to assess the situation they were walking into, both silently agreeing that, if there was a trap present, the best way to find it would be to spring it. But he knew there wouldn't be a trap. Padmé wouldn't do that to them, even under duress from someone, or something else. He and his Master took a simultaneous step forward, both wanting to be the first ones into the situation.

Anakin looked around the room and realised that they had been taken to Padmé's private quarters in Theed. There were three long sofas arranged in a triangle around the room, each facing a table that was centred in the middle of the room, directly beneath a large dome window. The walls were windows out onto the small balconies that overlooked the city centre, with large pillars of durasteel reinforcing their curved structure, no doubt supplying the energy the shields needed to keep the elements and enemies out. There were few holo-images and Anakin sensed that the Senator didn't spend much time in this room, especially considering that her office was only on the other side of the building.

Sensing no danger, both Jedi released their grip on their lightsabers and walked fully into the room, Anakin falling nervously behind his Master. It was only when the adrenaline left his system that he realised exactly where he was and whom exactly it was standing in front of him. He looked up to her as she moved towards the pair, her eyes riveted solely on Obi-Wan.

"It is good to see you again, Master Kenobi, it has been too long," she told him with a formal voice that thawed out towards the end. Anakin couldn't take his eyes away from her face. She _was_ even more beautiful than he remembered. Her hair was piled high on her head, held back by a piece of headwear that he always thought looked ridiculous. His eyes roamed her body, covered in a blue material that looked so soft and smooth, and welcoming… His eyes drifted back to her face and he drank in her every smile, every twitch, every inflection in her voice, every word.

He barely heard his Master acknowledge Anakin, so deep in his reverie was he. Only when her eyes turned to him did he move, stepping out of his Master's shadow. He couldn't speak. He couldn't _breathe_.

"Ani? Little Ani?"

He hated people calling him that. It reminded him of his mother, of his life on Tatooine. But he couldn't tell her to stop, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

"My you've grown," she continued unphased and grinned.

He didn't know what to say. He couldn't think. He couldn't breathe. He really, really couldn't breathe. He glanced to his Master who raised his eyebrows in amused question. He didn't know what to do. He imagined that he looked like a small animal caught in bright guide lights of a speeder.

"So have you." He wanted to kick himself. He'd sworn to himself on the journey form Coruscant that he wouldn't let her affect him like this. Had looked her up on the holonet just so he could prepare himself for her, so he wouldn't be as out of his depth as he currently was. Whole load of good that had did him. "Grown more beautiful… And shorter, for a senator, I mean." He cringed internally at the look she was currently sending him. He felt like a bantha, he really did and there was no way he could go back and change what had just happened. Maybe he could use a Jedi mind trick…

He cleared his throat and turned to his Master who sighed and shook his head in Anakin's direction. Anakin rolled his eyes and followed Padmé towards one of the sofas. He sat across from her, as Obi-Wan took a seat next to him. Typho stood behind his charge, a silent beacon of warning to anyone who may attempt to harm her.

"I had hoped that it would not come to this, Master Kenobi. You and I both know that there are more important things that you can attend yourself to in these difficult times," Padmé spoke and Anakin felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He knew the sensation was not his own and he turned to Obi-Wan and saw his square-set shoulders, his jaw grinding down on his teeth. "However, it seems that whatever the Chancellor wants, the Chancellor gets." Anakin picked up on the bitterness in her tone and he frowned.

"I beg your pardon, my lady, but what has the Chancellor got to do with any of this?" Obi-Wan asked and Anakin tucked his robes further around himself, trying to ward off the sudden chill in the air. Maybe it was the loss of his camaraderie, his connection to Obi-Wan or maybe it was a draught from one of the many windows. He didn't know. He wanted rid of it.

Padmé frowned and inclined her head, confusedly.

"It is the Chancellor who asked for me to be under Jedi protection. He spoke with the Jedi Council earlier this morning and that is why you have been sent here. Two Jedi is a little excessive, don't you think?"

There was silence after her revelation and Anakin felt Obi-Wan turn to him. Anakin continued to stare ahead, his own jaw firmly set. The Jedi Council should not have been taking orders from a politician. It was a well-known fact that the Jedi were not affiliated with any organisation and only supported the Republic because the Republic served peace and democracy and justice, like the Jedi Order.

"I was not aware that the Chancellor had requested your protection, Senator," Obi-Wan paused and turned back to Anakin with a hint of accusation in his eyes. "Were you, Padawan?"

Anakin twitched and jerked his head to look at Obi-Wan. He felt anger bubble under the surface at the accusation in Obi-Wan's tone and voice. Surely Obi-Wan knew him well enough to know that he would tell him if the Chancellor had spoken to him about their mission. Granted the Chancellor had taken to his usual 'ego-stroking' as Obi-Wan had come to call it, but he hadn't specified anything – or even mentioned, for that matter – anything relating to a mission, or Padmé.

"No," he barked back and glared at his Master. "I would have told you if he had."

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrow and cocked his jaw, never taking his eyes away from Anakin. Anakin had never before felt such rage at his Master. Obi-Wan was questioning _him _when it was Obi-Wan who was having difficulty following simple orders given by the Jedi council. Anakin shook his head and stood up abruptly.

"Excuse me, my lady, I need a breath of air," he muttered as he marched off to one of the bays that led out onto the balcony.

The warm air on his skin was welcoming but did nothing to quell the anger in his blood. He could feel his hands shaking; feel the adrenaline rushing through his body. His head was foggy and he felt _powerful_. Powerful in a way that only anger could conjure. He marched across the small balcony several times, breathing deeply trying to calm himself. Obi-Wan was only trying to see if Palpatine might have said anything about their mission, he knew that but it didn't help. His Master had questioned his loyalty and that was almost unforgivable. He grabbed onto the durasteel rod that acted as a barrier and pushed against it, willing a gust of wind to come and push him over the edge. He could feel Obi-Wan using the Force to try to communicate with Anakin but Anakin shut him out completely, blocking his mind off like a fortress. He was impenetrable and Obi-Wan knew that. He stretched his neck, feeling the bones crack and he felt a little of the tension ease. It would do no good to look like a petulant child in front of the Senator.

He sighed deeply and turned back towards the room. He leaned against the railing, trying to regain his focus, imagining the Temple, the room of a thousand fountains, Yoda's quarters… he sighed heavily again and rolled his neck. His eyes never left Padmé's as she watched Obi-Wan intently, exasperation clearly written on her features. She hadn't really changed much in the years since he had last seen her. She was still as beautiful and as passionate about her work and her people. He could feel the swirls of darkness evaporating around him as he watched her, an inner calm he had not felt since he had first met her taking over his body. He closed his eyes and breathed out shortly.

She should not affect him like this.

Anakin turned sharply back to the balcony, his anger at himself building and he tried to quench it. He stared across the beautiful city skyline, one that was much lower than that of Coruscant. The sun was beginning to set on Naboo, igniting the sky in a gradation of oranges, yellows, pinks and violets – a sunset that a Coruscanti could only imagine. Even on Tatooine, the sunsets had never been as spectacular as here on Naboo – and Tatooine had two suns to awe a person with. A chill was beginning to settle in the air, the warmth of the air draining away slowly. He knew that nights were always colder, no matter what planet they were on but he was still never quite prepared for it.

He hated the cold. He'd grown up on a sand planet, surrounded by exhausting dry heat that zapped the life out of those who weren't used to it during the day and a coldness that penetrated deep into the marrow of a person's bones at night. At the Temple, the quarter's he used to share with Obi-Wan had been cold, day and night. But as he'd grown older and become more ready to become a Knight, he'd somehow managed to find himself with his very own quarters. At first, it was strange – and it still was – not having Obi-Wan there in the next room. Thought, in a way, he was. His dorm was only a few feet away from Anakin's but it just wasn't the same.

He sighed again and refocused his vision on the scenery before him, awing at the way the shadows of the building and trees and plants lengthened as the sun dipped lower and lower in the sky. The garden below went from luscious green to dark and ominous in minutes and he watched a small animal scurry around the roots of some smaller bushes with a small smile on his face. That's what life was all about in the end: survival. They were all just scurrying about at the base of something larger, trying to figure out how to use it to survive.

Shaking his head of his maudlin thoughts, he turned back towards the room and saw that it was empty. He sighed. Clearly, he had been outside for far longer than he had ever intended. He could see his long, dark shadow on the burnt orange floor of the greeting room and he walked towards it. Even his own shadow was elusive to him. He slid into the room quietly and looked around listening intently to hear which direction the muffled voices were coming from. He moved towards them and rounded a corner into what looked like a kitchen, where Dormé and Ellé were bustling about with pots and various pieces of food. He continued to watch them and listen to their chatter before he cleared his throat.

The two handmaidens jumped what looked like ten feet in the air and Anakin tried not to smile too widely.

"Padawan Skywalker, you startled us!" Dormé stated as she clutched at her chest.

"I apologise," he replied sincerely, bowing his head slightly. "Do you know where Obi-Wan is?" He asked politely, hoping that one of the two would have an idea where his errant master was.

"I believe he and Captain Typho are in the security room, looking over the security detail we already have in place," Dormé continued and Anakin nodded. He noticed that Dormé's attitude was slightly reserved and he wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. He knew she had been present to witness his little tantrum and had no doubt surmised that he was a petulant boy who had no place to be looking after her mistress. And who was he to blame her? He'd certainly think that of himself if he had been in her place.

He nodded and smiled to them both before turning to walk way. He was halfway across the room when he stopped midstep and pivoted on his heel.

"Three floors down," he heard a voice call from the kitchen and he smiled, pivoting once again and moving towards the turbo-lift.

* * *

"I must apologise, Senator, for the behaviour of my young Padawan," Obi-Wan spoke as he watched Anakin stomp about on the veranda. He hated when Anakin did this, never mind when he did it in public – which, granted was not all that often. He knew that Anakin had been hurt by Obi-Wan's remark that he could possibly know something of the Chancellor's actions. He had seen it in the younger man's eyes and felt it through the Force before he had thrown up his cloaks and his eyes had turned to ice. Obi-Wan worried sometimes that Anakin was a little _too _good at hiding his emotions and feelings.

"It is not your place to apologise for him, Master Kenobi," Padmé replied and Obi-Wan smiled tightly at her before conceding with a nod.

"Nevertheless, he was out of line and I will make sure he apologises to you." Padmé smiled and shook her head but did not utter a response. Silence ensued for a few moments before Obi-Wan cleared his throat and turned to Captain Typho. "What security measures do you have in place at the moment?"

While Typho was responding, Obi-Wan tentatively probed Anakin's wall, looking for a loose brick, a lowering of the shield but there was none. He sighed and closed their connection, acknowledging that Anakin was more than a little upset; the negativity swarming off him was almost smothering. Obi-Wan wondered what he was blaming himself for, this time.

"…multiple cameras in all the rooms in her office and here-"

"Yes, even my bedroom, which I think is _entirely _uncalled for!" Padmé spoke angrily; her face flushing slightly and Obi-Wan could understand her indignance. To have cameras in such a personal space as a bedroom _was _an inconvenience, but one that unfortunately could not be avoided in the current situation.

"Senator, it is a necessary evil. An intrusion it may seem like now, but if it aides us in finding your attacker and the murderer of your people… would you not allow us this temporary arrangement?" Obi-Wan spoke calmly, slowly, trying to negotiate with the strong-headed young woman. He could see her face losing some of its vigour and he withheld his smile.

She sighed deeply and looked up, her lips sucked in between her teeth, her chin jutting slightly.

"As you wish. I have some work that I must attend to." Her words were clipped and Obi-Wan would have shivered at their chilled tone but he simply shook his head.

He watched her leave the room, one of her handmaidens following and he stood up. The room was a startling display of fiery reds and hues of orange and he turned to watch the sun set on the horizon. Anakin's silhouette was black against the ethereal background. His young Padawan was so deep in thought that he didn't even respond to Obi-Wan's prying mind probe. Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head. Sometimes, he felt like he didn't know Anakin at all.

* * *

"Master," Anakin greeted as he walked in behind Obi-Wan. The security room was small and cramped, with barely enough room for two people. Holo-images lined every wall. Anakin could see that they were grouped together so that images from the same room were kept together. There were views from inside the rooms, looking out to the city and also images from outside the building looking into the various rooms. There had to be over eighty cameras in the room and Anakin had to admit he was impressed, if not a little confused as to how one person could keep up with the goings-on of each and every camera.

"Decided to join us, have you?" Obi-Wan asked without turning to look at Anakin.

Anakin sighed at his Master's posture. His arms were folded across his chest, his feet shoulder-width apart. He was standing vigil over the cameras, alone and Anakin wondered why. Surely, this was a job for someone… who wasn't a Jedi.

"I must apologise Master… I was out of line."

Obi-Wan turned around slowly and eyed Anakin from head to toe. It was all Anakin could do not to squirm under the scrutiny. Instead, he looked towards the cameras and watched Dormé and Ellé prepare what looked like a feast for an army. His eyes roved the screens in search of Padmé but he couldn't find her.

"Where's the Senator?" He asked after a few minutes of silence and eye wandering.

Obi-Wan tutted and his eyes scanned the images in front of him. He sighed and shook his head, a sense of defeat weaving off him.

"She locked herself in her 'fresher. She hasn't come out for over an hour."

Anakin started at that. He turned to Obi-Wan quickly and looked at him questioningly.

"Why isn't there a recorder in her 'fresher?" He asked loudly, his tone indicating that he was not at all happy with this news.

Obi-Wan turned back to him and raised an eyebrow. He half smirked at Anakin's admonishing gaze before turning back to the screen pointedly.

Anakin shrugged slightly and then nodded as realisation swam over him.

"Oh…" He paused for a long moment. "How do you know nothing has happened to her in there?"

"I can feel it," he replied almost arrogantly. "She's skulking. She thinks that by hiding in the 'fresher that she is showing us that she is independent…" Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head dejectedly. "She almost reminds me of someone else who used to storm off to the bathroom when he couldn't get his way."

Anakin rolled his eyes and shook his head, glad that at least some of their camaraderie was back.

"Anyone I know?" Anakin asked innocently as he continued to watch the screens. Some of them were just black squares, which he supposed were outside shots of the building. He had been surprised at how quickly the sky had darkened after the sun had gone down, being used to the Coruscanti ever-lasting light source of street and car lamps.

Silence ensued for long minutes as the two Jedi watched over the apartment. It was strange, seeing everything all at once – watching someone on one screen as they moved through a doorway and disappeared, only to appear on the screen below or across. Not soon enough, the comm. link beeped and Obi-Wan reached down to the data terminal and pressed a button.

"Kenobi here," he announced to the anonymous person.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Two of my men will be there shortly to relieve you both so you can dine with the Senator." It was Typho.

Anakin hadn't realised that he was hungry until the Captain mentioned food, and as soon as he did, his stomach growled. Obi-Wan turned to him with a half amused, half shocked expression on his face.

"Thank you, Captain Typho."

Moments later, there was a knock on the door and Anakin and Obi-Wan hurried out of the room, their stomachs continuously growling at their inconsideration at not having fed them for some time.

Half way down the corridor, Obi-Wan spoke, almost startling the blinkered Anakin whose sole focus was the food at the end of the corridor.

"You know… I think my ears may be broken."

"Huh? What? How?" Anakin almost stopped – _almost _– in confusion but kept up his quick pace.

"Because I'm _sure _I heard you apologise to me earlier…"

* * *

Dinner had gone surprisingly well. Although Anakin had yet to apologise to the senator, she was friendly enough towards him, even extending an invitation to him and Obi-Wan to visit her on Coruscant when she did eventually return there. The mass of food had, unsurprisingly, gone unfinished but Anakin had tried his hardest not to let too much of it go to waste. And now he wished he hadn't. He was wandering halls he'd wandered about a hundred times already feeling tired and over-fed.

Night had well and truly fallen on Naboo, although the inside of the house remained warm, for which Anakin was glad. He'd somehow managed to convince Obi-Wan to let him do the rounds of the inside, while Obi-Wan wandered the grounds around Padmé's apartment. The night outside wasn't terribly cold but it was cold enough for Anakin to not want to be out in it. Ever sine Padmé had gone to bed, all he and Obi-Wan had done was wander aimlessly through and around the building. He had to admit, he was very tired. Still, it was early into the night and he knew that they were to be relieved soon by some of Typho's men.

He sighed as he came back to the main greeting room in the upper levels and he paused, a ripple of disturbance hitting his senses. He stopped completely and closed his eyes, reaching out into the Force. All was still once more. He grunted in frustration. There had been ripples like that all evening since they had arrived but when they tried to search them out in the Force they disappeared. It wasn't something that happened often and he didn't like it at all.

He wandered slowly down towards Padmé's private bedchamber and paused outside the door, leaning a hand against the cool durasteel trying to sense anything amiss through the heavy metal. Everything seemed perfectly calm. He sighed. Padmé had ordered that the recorders in her room be turned off before she went to bed – she didn't like the idea of anyone watching her while she slept. Besides, she had reasoned, there were two force-sensitive men guarding her. They had relented, but ordered her to take her blue and white astromech droid R2-D2 with her as a motion detector. She had easily relented and retired to her quarters while Anakin had followed her and covered up the cameras.

He meandered back towards the main entrance hall and felt Obi-Wan's presence drawing nearer. He took a seat on one of the comfortable couches and awaited his Master's presence. He didn't have to wait long. Obi-Wan sighed as he dropped down onto the sofa beside Anakin, his face looking a little haggard and flushed from being out in the cold for too long.

"This is an utter waste of time," Obi-Wan commented as he leaned forward onto his elbows and scrubbed a hand across his face in an effort to warm his cheeks up.

Anakin couldn't help but agree. There was absolutely no reason for the two Jedi to be there, baby-sitting the senator. The mundane mission bored even Anakin.

"Don't I know it? If I have to wander around here one more time…" he trailed off as he sensed the same ripple in the Force as he had mere minutes before. He and Obi-Wan straightened and reached out but again, the elusive disturbance dissolved before their fingers.

"I cannot believe we allowed her to cover the cameras in her bedchamber," Obi-Wan grumbled again and Anakin nodded silently.

He knew his Master didn't approve of the mission but there was nothing complaining about it would do. Now he knew how his Master felt whenever Anakin complained incessantly about some of the less-than-adventurous missions they ended up on.

"I know… but I can sense everything that is going on in that bedroom… And she has Artoo with her. Trust me," Anakin decided to try to placate his master but it seemed to have no effect.

"It's too risky…" Obi-Wan sighed grimly and looked about the room. He stroked his beard and then looked back at his young Padawan, a smirk making its way across his face. "Besides, your senses aren't that finely tuned."

Anakin scoffed and tried not to rise to the bait, but it was a futile attempt.

"And yours are?"

Obi-Wan's smirk deepened and he knew he had Anakin.

"Perhaps."

Anakin rolled his eyes and moved towards the balcony, knowing that Obi-Wan would follow him. He needed a breath of fresh air, feeling suddenly smothered in the main room. He took a few chilling breaths that caught in his throat before turning towards his friend and mentor. He observed Obi-Wan's sigh and knew that the older man was tired. He was too. He blinked his eyes, though it felt more like sand paper had been pulled across the soft jelly of his eyes. He licked his lips slightly and then turned back to the inky horizon.

"You look tired," Obi-Wan spoke, breaking the long silence.

Anakin shrugged lightly, hugging his robe tighter around him. A stiff breeze was blowing through the Palace grounds and he shivered slightly.

"I don't sleep so well anymore."

He had learned long ago that it did no good to hide the truth from Obi-Wan – their training bond had strengthened along with their friendship and Obi-Wan knew exactly when Anakin was lying. He saw Obi-Wan out of the corner of his eye nod slightly at his response.

"Because of your mother?"

Anakin had told Obi-Wan about the dreams of his mother, though only vaguely. He hadn't mentioned the hellish nightmares that had flared up after Mawar. He didn't see the point. He knew the older Jedi had enough problems of his own. Problems that he was unwilling to share with his Padawan. Anakin shook his head almost imperceptibly in annoyance.

"I don't know why I keep dreaming about her… I haven't since… well…"

Anakin had dreamt about his mother for two standard years solidly, since he had left her on Tatooine. Mixed with the dreams about Qui-Gon, Yaddle and the other Jedi who had fallen as a direct result of his failures, he had had many sleepless nights over the years.

"Dreams pass in time," Obi-Wan tried to reassure but his tone was unconvincing. Anakin clucked slightly and smiled emptily at his Master, a cold feeling beginning to emanate from deep within his bones. A coldness that would not be eliminated by any fire or warming device. He sighed and shivered.

"I think we'd best head back indoors. The night is starting to cool rapidly."

They turned slowly and made to walk back into the building when a disturbing wave crashed into them, spreading out from Padmé's bedroom. Anakin called his lightsaber from his belt as he ran towards the room, jumping over the two large sofas in one leap, barely registering Obi-Wan's "I sense it too!"

He could feel the adrenaline begin to pump in his veins. He slammed into the wall just outside Padmé's door, his feet sliding on the marble floor. He fumbled with the sensor on the outside of the wall and ran through the door before it had even opened, igniting his lightsaber.

_Don't think, **feel**._

He pounced onto Padmé's bed, feet either side of her slender frame and he swiped his ice blue 'saber in the direction that the Force guided him and he felt it slice through something small. He immediately swung it again and sliced through something else. He deactivated his saber in time to avoid chopping Padmé's head off as she sprang up in bed. She let out a scream, frightened by the dark figure standing above her.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Obi-Wan fumble with the console on the wall that worked the shields that acted as windows. When the field finally came down, Obi-Wan leaned precariously over the sill and out into the dark Theed night. Whatever it was he had seen was well and truly gone.

"Master?" Anakin asked of Obi-Wan as he jumped from the bed and sprung towards the window as Dormé and Typho rushed into the room.

"A probe droid," Obi-Wan replied frustration laced in his voice. "Damn shields. If it had been simple glass, I could have broken through." He let out a haggard breath and leaned over the sill once again. Anakin joined him but he could see nothing. "It's gone."

Anakin pushed himself away from the wall and let out a frustrated noise. Never before had he felt so frustrated. They had just had their perfect opportunity to catch Padmé's would-be assassin and it had slipped right through their fingers.

"Are you all right, my lady?" Dormé was asking Padmé as Anakin and Obi-Wan moved back to the centre of the room.

"Yes…" She made to put her hand down but Anakin yelled at her to stop. "Why?" She yelped as he yanked her hand away and to her chest.

He moved towards the bed once again, kneeling on it to get a better look at what it was he had sliced in two and when his eyes settled on the four sections of dead insect, he cringed.

"Kouhuns," he pointed to the parts and looked back up to Obi-Wan.

"Very poisonous…" Obi-Wan continued for him and he let out yet another sigh. "It seems it is no longer safe for us here." In the background, Artoo whirred sadly, having failed his mistress. Typho walked over to him and placed a placating hand on the little droids dome head. "Is there anywhere else we could go my lady, where no one would find us?"

Padmé looked up at him and Anakin thought she had never looked more beautiful. She looked so vulnerable and scared. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and protect her. But he didn't. He knew that he couldn't.

"Yes…"

* * *

"The pieces are beginning to fall into place…"

High above the Naboo atmosphere, a lone Star Destroyer sad in idle orbit. Only three of the ship's crew knew exactly where they were.

Nute Gunray nodded to the holographic image of the Sith Lord in front of him.

"Yes, my Lord. And what of Senator Amidala? I will not rest until I know she is dead," he spat out the Senator's name like it was poisonous on his tongue.

"She will be dealt with in due course. In the meantime, we have the rest of our plan to complete…"


	5. Part 4

It wasn't everyday that Anakin got the chance to wake up without the thought of a Jedi Council meeting invading his thoughts. His room was still dark when his eyes opened but he knew that the hour was late. Light seeped in through the heavy drape curtains that hung over the large arched windows, giving the room a maudlin atmosphere. The journey to Varykino had been long, with Obi-Wan at the controls of the convoy and he had been unlucky enough to draw the later of the two shifts that he and Obi-Wan had decided to break the first night into. Any dreams he may have had remained blissfully distant, his memories of the night only a black unconsciousness. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned loudly. He was still a little tired but he knew that would pass once he had washed away the nights grime and sweat.

When they had arrived, Obi-Wan and he had wandered the grounds, reaching out into the Force, looking for a sign of what they had been feeling back in Theed. But none had been found and they had let Padmé lead them into the house. Obi-Wan had taken one look at Anakin and ordered him straight to bed, and Anakin was not one to complain. His bones had been tired, a deep ache emanating from within them. He didn't know why, he hadn't taken part in any particularly taxing activities. Besides, Anakin had reasoned with himself, Obi-Wan had slept on the ship on the way to Naboo.

He sat up eventually and moved towards the window and drew back one of the heavy drapes and squinted into the light. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he took a step back away from the window in awe. His window overlooked a body of water that stretched as far as the eye could see. The water was an azure unlike anything he had ever seen before, diamond like in its purity. The water was still, with only a few white horses breaking the surface. The light glinted off the surface and Anakin could almost imagine the cooling feeling the water would have on him if he were to dive in. He sighed almost dreamily and watched the water for a few minutes. Eventually, he moved away from the window and his meditative state and began his morning stretches. After fifteen minutes of stretching, he went in search of a refresher and cleansed himself of the night before.

Padmé had clearly been disturbed by the previous night's turn of events. She had been so sure that no one would try to harm her when she was under the protection of two Jedi. Even Anakin and Obi-Wan had blindly – and somewhat arrogantly – believed so too. So shaken was the senator, that she agreed to leave her handmaidens and her head of security back in Theed. Her handmaiden would act as her decoy on the journey to Coruscant for the Creation of an Army act, an important act that Padmé had direly wanted to go to herself.

Anakin was glad that she had decided to leave everyone behind and trust the two Jedi: the less people who knew where they were the better.

Varykino, Padmé had told them, was her family's lake house retreat and it was very rarely – if ever – used. It was the perfect place to hide. Going off world had been out of the question, as Padmé was too well known on Theed and there was no way they could disguise who she was.

When he found a refresher – there was one only a few doors down from his room – he stripped off his sleeping clothes and stepped into the steaming hot shower. He scrubbed at his tired eyes and rubbed his fingers through his hair, fingering his braid. He cringed slightly, remembering only now that it was wet that he had forgotten to take it out and remove the coloured braids. He reached out for the bottle that was in front of him and poured some of the soup onto his hand. It was scentless and he was thankful – it wouldn't do to be running around smelling of flowers all day.

Eventually, he stepped out from under the stream of water and fumbled around for a towel to dry himself off. He examined his reflection in the mirror and noted the dark circles under his eyes were getting bigger and darker each day and he shook his head. The rising tensions within the Republic were taking their toll on everyone. He sighed, tucked his towel around his midriff, and walked back to his room.

He was half way through the door when he heard a gasp from further down the corridor. Stepping back out he looked left then right and saw Padmé standing with her bottom lip in the vice grip of her teeth. Frowning, he raised his hand in a half wave and saw her duck her head and felt the faint embers of embarrassment float over his mind. He smiled slightly and shook his head.

"Good morning, my lady," he called to her to break the oncoming uncomfortable silence.

"Good morning, Padawan Skywalker…" She trailed her eyes up his body once more and he felt his skin goose pimple under her eyes. He bit his own lip and reached up to his chest and ran his hand down it, trying to rid himself of the tiny pimples. "Uh… Master Kenobi and I are about to sit down for some late breakfast… I… I came to see if you would like to join us?"

Anakin found her behaviour and her odd speech pattern slightly amusing and somewhat confusing but he did not let this show. He had vowed to himself that he would not let her affect him in any way that was unbecoming of a Jedi… he just didn't realise how difficult it may be to fulfil that vow. He smiled at her and nodded.

"I shall be down in a few minutes… I just need to put some clothes on, first."

She snapped her head up from its continual perusal of his body. Her brown eyes were large and round when they met his and he felt himself being sucked into their velvety depths. Before he could lose himself completely, she blinked and looked away to the wall beside her and nodded her head vigorously.

"Of course… I will see you in a few minutes."

Anakin watched as she pivoted on her heel and quickly walked down the corridor. He watched her until she disappeared down the staircase and then he sighed, urging his thundering heart to calm itself. It did no good. He walked into his room to change.

* * *

Obi-Wan sat quietly at the dining table in an expansive entertainment hall. Even though Varykino and it's lake house was meant only as a family retreat, Padmé's position as Senator had required her family to have entertainment halls in every home they owned. This particular room was dominated mainly by the large wooden table that was placed in the centre of the room. From the head of the table, Obi-Wan could look out onto the surreal blue lake and watch the few water birds skim the surface, or dive in for some food. Behind him was two huge arched doors that led in from the corridor outside, which in itself was entirely too ornate for his liking. There was a fireplace that stretched across almost half of the wall to his left, large logs smouldering away, reminiscing about the fire that he had lit the night before. A large portrait of Padmé in her Queen attire had been hung above the wall and when he had asked about it, she merely cringed and shook her head. The wall that led into the room and the one that framed his lake view were a deep burgundy, with heavy golden drapes tied back with frilly tassels. The other two walls were a light cream colour, to help keep the room bright. On the table in front of him was an array of fruit and Nubain breakfast pastries. He didn't know where the food had come from and his hungry stomach didn't care.

He watched as Padmé entered the room once again and took a seat to his left. She had a faint blush on her cheeks and he smirked lightly. He had sensed Anakin's embarrassment a few minutes before and guessed that the two events were linked.

"I hope there's enough food here. There is a grocer just a few miles away and he sends someone with some food every week in case we should visit unexpectedly. Never too much, so as not to waste much…" Obi-Wan watched her curiously. It wasn't like the Senator to ramble. Whatever happened between her and Anakin must have truly upset her. She gushed lightly and shook her head. "I'm rambling, aren't I?" Obi-Wan only smiled and looked out over the lake once more.

He was tired, his long night had taken its toll on him but he was hoping to keep to a regular sleeping pattern and would stay awake for a few more hours at least. Besides, he needed to keep in regular contact with his Padawan – there was so much for him to get up to in this place and if Obi-Wan didn't talk to him at least a few hours each day, he could imagine Anakin disassembling poor R2-D2 and many more things he found around the house. He had sensed Anakin's attraction to the Senator but he also knew that Anakin wouldn't do anything to jeopardise his position within the Jedi Order… Or at least he _hoped_ he wouldn't.

"Good morning!" Obi-Wan looked up to his Padawan as he breezed into the room, his Jedi attire hanging crisply from his body, a smile adorning his face. Obi-Wan frowned. Anakin was never this happy when he had just been woken up.

"Good morning, Padawan. I take it you slept well?"

Anakin smiled as he plopped into the chair to Obi-Wan's left and reached out to grab onto a fruit and a pastry with both hands. Anakin smirked slightly as he turned to his Master and tore at a piece of pastry.

"Very well, Master, very well."

Obi-Wan decided not to comment to the contrary evidence of the dark circles under the younger man's eyes but knew that Anakin would rebuke with a comment about his own heavy eyes.

"It's a beautiful day, don't you agree?" Obi-Wan turned to Padmé and watched as she looked over the view he had been entranced by all morning. "You never get to see a day like this on Coruscant. That city is far too polluted, it is a wonder that anyone can survive there."

Obi-Wan and Anakin shared an amused look. It was a well-known fact that the Senator was not a fan of the Capital. Obi-Wan could not disagree with her either but Coruscant was the only home he had ever known and it was most likely the only place that he would ever call home.

"Oh, Coruscant's not so bad, my lady," Anakin countered and Obi-Wan raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"Oh, really?"

Anakin nodded vigorously, a crumb of pastry falling from his lip.

"There's absolutely nothing that can compare to flying over the Capital when returning from a mission and looking out of the view point and seeing the Temple on the horizon."

Obi-Wan sat back impressed. He had never known his Padawan to think such things, let alone _say_ them. It was heartening that Anakin felt so strongly for the symbol of peace and justice in the galaxy. He could see that Padmé too was impressed, as she watched him with large eyes.

"What?" Anakin asked uncomfortably after a few moments silence. Obi-Wan let out a laugh and shook his head.

"I've never thought of it from that point of view," Padmé murmured and both Anakin and Obi-Wan smiled lightly at her.

A few minutes passed in comfortable silence as the trio ate. Anakin kept looking out the window and Obi-Wan followed his gaze. There was a small jetty on the lake edge with an even smaller boat anchored there. The blue water lapped against the small wooden hull and the boat looked almost humiliated at its docility. Obi-Wan watched as Anakin's eyes drifted out once again and fell on the small boat. The boy was far too curious for his own good sometimes.

"I'd like to spend the day at the shore, if that's all right?" Padmé asked eventually as she too looked longingly into the vast garden.

Obi-Wan nodded slightly.

"Anakin and I will just do some checks around the grounds again and make sure every thing is in order. Although, I'm sure Artoo would have told us already if there wasn't." Obi-Wan had ordered the little droid to roll around the perimeter of the grounds earlier in the morning, looking for any sign of intruders. The droid had not reported anything yet, but Obi-Wan and Anakin knew that they would have to check for themselves. The Force, that morning was remaining stubbornly dormant.

"That's fine. It will give me time to get dressed."

"Very well. We will let you know if we find anything."

As Padmé walked away, Obi-Wan tried to ignore Anakin's lingering eyes.

* * *

Padmé stretched out on the blanket that Anakin had laid out on the lawn for her. The sun was just past its noon highpoint and it was pleasantly warm. She could feel her skin heat up and she enjoyed the feeling of the beautiful rays on her face. It was a blissful moment in a tornado of uncertainty: the chaos of her life was uprooting and frightening. She had never imagined that the Trade Federation would try her life again and she shuddered, despite the heat. She wished that she had not been so afraid last night, so willing to listen to the two Jedi as she was now in dire need of female companionship.

The two Jedi were by no means dull but they were always so busy with one another and she found it difficult to talk to them about personal matters. She missed Dormé and she had only left her mere hours before.

She closed her eyes and leaned back on the blanket and allowed her thoughts to overwhelm her. Only weeks before, she was leading a busy but somewhat normal life. And now… now she was hiding out at her parents' lake house retreat under the protection of two well-known Jedi, three of her hand maidens had been killed in various attacks on her life and she had been forced to have her best friend act as her decoy, increasing the danger that Dormé was in. She hated it. She hated the idea of hiding, of letting her enemies know that she was scared – even just a little. But the previous nights events were enough to make her see that her life _was_ in danger. If it hadn't been for Anakin…

She didn't want to think about it.

Groaning, she pushed herself up onto her arms and looked down to the end of the grass, where she saw Master and Padawan sparring. Although, what she saw was more like a full on fight than a simple sparring match. Anakin had removed all of his shirts, while Obi-Wan kept his tan undershirt on. Both were doused in sweat, hair matted to their faces. They'd been sparring for over an hour. Their lightsabers hummed as they made contact. Padmé had never seen a match quite like it. The pair were extremely talented but she had to admit that it looked like Anakin had the upper hand, with his height and youth. However, whenever it seemed like he would lash out and win the fight, Obi-Wan would flip in the air so he was standing behind the young man, forcing him to defend instead of attack. It was quite a sight. Both spun and dived and jumped with such agility and grace that Padmé was mesmerised. She watched for a further five minutes before she raised her hand to her mouth as Anakin did a back flip and missed the edge of the grass, landing instead in the water.

Padmé stood up and rushed to the end of the grass, concern filling her. Once she reached the water's edge, she saw Obi-Wan had joined Anakin and the sparring match continued in the shallow waters. She looked from Obi-Wan to Anakin and found her gaze stuck on him.

His hair was soaked to his head, beads of water running over his face and chest and abdomen, the little crystalline dollops reflecting sunlight, much like his bright blue eyes. She had never seen a more beautiful man in her life. She caught his eye for a second and he smiled at her and she smiled back. She noticed that his defence faltered slightly, when Obi-Wan's attack made it through and his saber stopped mere millimetres from his neck.

"I concede!" Anakin called with laughter lacing his voice, a grin enveloping his face. Padmé tried to look away.

Both Obi-Wan and Anakin then looked down to the waist high water and glanced at one another. It seemed neither of them had really noticed what platform their fight had taken them to and both let out a little laugh.

"This is new," Obi-Wan muttered and Anakin's grin widened. Obi-Wan hauled himself over the bank and back up onto the grass where he collapsed in an exhausted heap. "Blast, Anakin, you're getting faster each day."

"Sorry, Master," Anakin said with absolutely no remorse in his voice, causing Padmé to smile. "I'll try to slow down for you, old man."

Padmé almost scoffed at that and looked to Obi-Wan to see his reaction but the older man was only smiling, his eyes holding an aged mirth. Padmé had never known such a friendship between two Jedi – but then, she hadn't exactly gotten to know many Jedi in her life.

"We had best go get cleaned up. Will you be all right, my lady?" Obi-Wan asked as he stood up and grimaced at his sopping clothes.

"I will be fine, Master Kenobi. Besides, I have Artoo with me," she smiled and gestured to the blue and white astromech droid who was standing idle in the doorway.

"Very well. Come, Anakin."

Anakin smiled at her before he walked off and Padmé couldn't help but turn and watch him leave, a blush creeping up her neck. There was a strange fluttering in her stomach and she dropped to the ground, dangling her feet over the edge of the grass and letting her toes dabble in the cool water.

Anakin Skywalker would not affect her like this.

* * *

It wasn't long before the two Jedi re-emerged from the house and made their way towards her. They had both re-dressed fully, their Jedi outfits looking rather uncomfortable in the sweltering heat. Obi-Wan took a seat beside her, while Anakin chose to remain standing. A silence descended upon the group that was broken only by Anakin's shuffling.

"Anakin…" Obi-Wan growled out. Anakin instantly stopped and Padmé could imagine the sheepish grin on his face.

"Sorry, Master." There was silence again and the trio looked out onto the pond. Padmé was not surprised when Anakin started shuffling again. "I think I'm going to go meditate."

Obi-Wan spluttered and spun his head to look at Anakin with mock shock on his face.

"_You _willingly choosing to meditate, young one?"

Anakin rolled his eyes and tilted his head from side to side and bared his teeth in a snarl that caused Obi-Wan to laugh some more. Padmé felt like an intruder in her own home, the camaraderie between these two was so strong that she could almost see the tendrils bonding them together.

"I've felt disconnected from the Force since we arrived here. I'm going to see if I can centre my focus."

Obi-Wan smiled proudly. Padmé watched as Anakin walked and sat on the end of the small jetty. She had seen him eyeing the small rowboat with curiosity throughout the day, before he had started sparring with Obi-Wan. She watched as he stretched his arms over his head and loosened the muscles in his shoulders and neck before folding his legs and sitting straight. Padmé resisted the urge to sigh and turned to look at Obi-Wan. She found that he was looking at her knowingly and she looked away quickly.

"You must be proud of you Padawan, Master Kenobi," she said eventually as she dipped her toes into the water once again. Varykino was a place she would never tire of, with its expansive balconies surrounding the entire upper floor so that the sun was accessible to the house's occupants at all points in the day.

"I am. Although there are times when I feel like…" he trailed off and Padmé turned to him in confusion only to see his eyes closed, as his body rocked from side to side gently.

She reached her hand out and placed it on his shoulder and a few moments later, he opened his eyes once more.

"Are you all right?" Padmé asked in concern, her hand dropping from his shoulder.

"Yes, I'm quite all right. Anakin… sometimes when he goes into a deep meditation, he has to touch into my mind… like an anchor, so he knows where to come back to. He's still not used to the deep meditation and we like to be connected in case anything happens."

Padmé nodded, even though she did not truly understand. The Jedi Religion was far too complex for an outsider to understand. There were some things that only those who were Force-sensitive could understand.

"What does it feel like?" Obi-Wan looked at her in question and Padmé elaborated. "To have someone connected to your mind… Is it…?"

She was not sure what she was trying to understand and so was finding it difficult to ask her question. But Obi-Wan seemed to know what she wanted to know and she observed him take a deep breath.

"It is difficult to explain it to someone if they have never felt it before. The Force… it allows us to manipulate things, to sense certain feelings and disturbances… When your mind is connected to someone else it's… it can be comforting, like with Anakin just now, to know that there is something keeping him anchored. We can sense each others emotions and thoughts more clearly when we are like this, because the bond is thicker, more… substantial."

"Can you feel the bond?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes. And when a Jedi closes his eyes and enters a deep state of mediation, or healing, he can see the bonds branching off of himself, to the people he has bonded with over the years. Usually, there are only two – that Jedi's Master and his Padawan but some Jedi have formed a latent bond… which is like a training bond, only unconsciously created. It's… Like I said, difficult to explain."

Padmé shook her head and smiled.

"No, I think I'm beginning to understand."

They sat in companionable silence for a long while, both just basking in the quiet down time they had stumbled upon. Padmé could tell from Obi-Wan's stance that he was still on alert, but his posture looked much more relaxed than it had been the previous day. This thought should have alarmed her, but she knew she was in no danger.

She jumped, startled when she felt Obi-Wan lurch forward slightly as his head whipped around to look at Anakin who was slumped against one of the small buoys at the jetty. Padmé was alarmed but Obi-Wan waved her down as she attempted to stand up.

"It was just a disturbance in the Force. Because he was so immersed in the Force, he felt it stronger."

Padmé glanced quickly from Obi-Wan to Anakin and back. Obi-Wan had closed his eyes and seemed to be deep in concentration and she saw that Anakin's back had straightened once more and his shoulders squared. Her heart rate had doubled at the fright, and she realised just how on edge she must have been.

She eventually relaxed, coaxing herself to breathe deeply, and keep her eyes off the attractive young Padawan who was sitting on her jetty.

"What does a disturbance in the Force feel like?" She asked eventually, with child like curiosity. She wanted to understand everything about the Jedi senses but she also knew that she would need much more than the few minutes she and Obi-Wan had been talking.

Obi-Wan chuckled and looked to her with a smile on his lips. "You remind me of one of the Younglings I used to train back when I was a Padawan." He smiled and Padmé wasn't sure whether to be offended or not but she knew that Obi-Wan wouldn't consciously upset her, so she smiled instead. "A disturbance is like… it's like a ripple in the pond. You can feel the ripples hitting you and sometimes you can see where it originates from… Sometimes it is more like a wave, or a crushing sensation." He went quiet again and instead of being surprised, Padmé simply turned to the water and waited patiently for his attention to turn back to her. She was startled once again when a voice called from further down and she laughed when she heard what he said:

"Stop it Obi-Wan! You're _rippling my pond_!"

Padmé could only guess as to what Obi-Wan had been doing to Anakin to warrant such a retort but she revelled in the familiarity of the two people around her.

Never before had she felt so safe.

* * *

Anakin found himself far out on the lake with Padmé, who he had somehow managed to convince to come aboard the small rowboat with him as the sun began to set over the house. Obi-Wan had been ordered to get some sleep by the Senator after he had dozed off on the bank just after Anakin's meditation. His Master was currently lying on the blanket on the grass, a speck on the horizon. He looked back at Padmé and found her gaze had drifted off to one of the large mountains at the side of the lake. Anakin marvelled at the perfect reflection of the purple masses on the lake's surface and leaned out to touch the water. It was cool and perfect. When he sat up straight again, his eyes met Padmé's and they both smiled, and he could not help but notice how beautiful she looked when she blushed. Her hair was pinned back away from her face and neck and he couldn't remember ever having seen something so beautiful in all his life.

He sat back in the small boat and turned his face up to the sky. This mission was turning out to be the best downtime he'd had since he was a little boy when he and Obi-Wan had gone to a beach planet. He'd decided then that all sand was rough and coarse and got just about everywhere, but the sand of Varykino was different. It wasn't like glass that cut into his feet, it was soft and cushion-like. It still got just about everywhere but for once, he really didn't mind.

He closed his eyes and let his mind wander, careful to block Padmé's mind from his probing fingers. He felt too much like he was spying when he sensed her emotions and thoughts. It disturbed him sometimes how well Obi-Wan could read him and he would not make Padmé feel uncomfortable in his presence. He was just beginning to relax when he felt a sharp pain run down his back. He sat up and stretched out the painful muscle but it did no good. There was something…

He shot up from his seat and felt the boat rock under his feet. He looked back to shore and saw that Obi-Wan too was standing, startled.

Darkness permeated his senses. All he could feel was a deep foreboding. Glancing around it seemed that nothing was amiss but he knew better. Something was lurking, dark and dangerous, he could feel it pummelling into him, pounding through his veins. He felt light-headed by the sheer overwhelming darkness.

He whirled around as he felt a probing on his mind, unfamiliar and eerie, a gentle brush against his senses. Before he knew what was happening, he felt cold wetness envelope him. He pushed at his chest, trying to dislodge whatever was holding him under the water but it was no good – there was nothing there. He struggled for a few minutes, writhing, trying to break the surface for a breath of much needed oxygen. He wasn't the greatest of swimmers at the best of times and this…

Reason kicked in and he grasped his lightsaber that he had modified – with the help of Kit Fisto – to work underwater. He had only just managed to disengage it from his belt before it was yanked from his grip. In the crystal waters, he could see it float away from him and sink slowly to the bed of the lake.

He tried to grasp his rebreather but it too was yanked away. His lungs _burned_. Automatically, he breathed in but his lungs merely filled with burning, salty water.

He tried to swim upwards but his feet were being dragged down. He kicked furiously, feeling the surface of the water getting closer. He tilted his head up as he paddled rapidly. Warmth encompassed his face and he gulped hungrily at the air before he was dragged back under. He twisted furiously, punching and kicking at his invisible attacker but it was no use. He inhaled again and felt his lungs fill once more.

And then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. He shot to the surface now that there was nothing holding him back. But he didn't feel the warmth of the sun on his face, didn't hear Padmé's frantic cries.

All he felt and heard and saw was a black darkness that only unconsciousness could bring.


	6. Part 5

**Author's Notes**: Well, firstly, notice the name and summary change? More fitting for what's to come I believe. Also, I apologise for the lateness. This chapter is shorter than the last few but I hope it's still as good. Enjoy.

_Part 5_

Anakin opened his eyes and found himself in a dark, unfamiliar room. He lay still for a few minutes, through sheer exhaustion and tried to centre himself. He breathed in deeply and felt his ribs scream in protest. He tried to turn his head to better see where exactly he was but his neck creaked in pain. He groaned and closed his eyes focusing on himself and the Force around him… Or the _lack_ of Force around him. He felt strangely… _disconnected. _His lungs hurt, too.

Outside a door, he heard voices and he tried to connect them, tried to feel if he recognised them at all but his head was too fogged and his senses were too dulled for him to truly be able to reach out. Instead, he leaned against the softness behind him, wondering why he was here. He vaguely remembered being on the boat with Padmé but he… he just wasn't sure. The voiced gradually got louder until the two speakers stopped outside his door. He attempted to sit up but his body ached in protest once again.

The door opened and light flooded into the room, blinding him. He squinted as the two shadows moved towards him. He knew he should be more wary than he was but he just didn't have the energy to try.

"Anakin Skywalker," a voice chortled and he immediately wished he hadn't been so placated. He recognised that voice; he recognised the voice all too well.

He reached out into the Force, trying to recognise the signatures, to confirm what his normal senses were telling him but everything evaded him. They must have blocked his Force abilities, or, or… he didn't know. Suddenly, he felt his heartbeat race, faster than he had ever felt. Memories, too many, that voice brought back to him. He hated the owner of that voice.

--

Obi-Wan swam as fast as he ever had in his life to the small boat and to Padmé. He didn't want to think about what the disappearance of his Padawan's Force signature meant. He didn't want to think about the resounding darkness that had gripped him in a fear so harsh that he had been unable to move for several minutes. And by the time he had been able to move, it was too late. Anakin was… gone. His arms ached from their rapid movements. His lungs burned from over-exertion but he knew he couldn't stop.

Damn Anakin for rowing so far out onto to vast lake.

He made it to the boat eventually and saw Padmé sitting quietly, staring at the water, tears running down her face. Obi-Wan wondered if she thought he was dead. He treaded the water at the side of the boat, reluctant to try to haul himself over in case he capsized the small boat with his weight. His grey-blue eyes met her empty brown ones and he bit his lip as his chest heaved up and down, his lungs gulping at the air around him. He could feel the confusion and emptiness radiating off her.

They simply stared at each other for a few minutes until she eventually held her hand out and helped him climb over the edge of the small boat. It took a few minutes of careful leverage from the two but he eventually sat in the seat and looked over the edge to where he knew Anakin had fallen over.

"What happened, Obi-Wan?" She asked in a small voice and he couldn't help but notice the use of his first name and not his title.

He bit his lip again and looked down to the wooden hull and raised his hand to his beard in a well-worn thoughtful move. What did happen? He didn't know. One moment, all was calm – perhaps too calm – and then an all too familiar surge of darkness had enveloped both of them, pulling Anakin over the edge of the boat. He had felt the younger man' struggle, had been relieved when he felt the darkness evaporate. So relieved, in fact, that he almost missed the over-whelming vacuum that came when he realised that Anakin _wasn't there_. He knew he wasn't dead. He couldn't be. Obi-Wan would know but it still did not help the fact that he didn't know what happened.

"I'm not sure." He looked up to her again and saw her fight back even more tears. He reached out and patted the back of her hand but he felt the hollowness of it himself and wondered if she felt it too. She could probably read the confusion and – he didn't like to admit it – the intense fear for his Padawan's life. It was only natural that he would react like this. He had bonded with his Padawan – as did all Masters – but Obi-Wan knew that this was more than that. Anakin was like a younger brother to him and this fear, it was too intense for his strict Jedi upbringing to comprehend. He had to contact the Council. Had to ask if he could go and search for his Padawan. "We have to contact the Jedi Council. Perhaps Master Yoda can help explain what happened here," Obi-Wan told her resolutely as he grasped onto the oars and began rowing back towards the shore, ignoring the burning muscles in his arms.

He only hoped that the Force hadn't deemed it Anakin's time. He couldn't handle it if that was the case.

--

Master Yoda stopped speaking suddenly and stumbled forward slightly and Master Mace Windu quickly turned to the diminutive Jedi with a questioning look in his eye. He had felt a shift in the Force himself but Yoda's reaction startled him. He didn't say anything as he watched the troll-like Jedi's eyes narrow as his lips thinned. He heard Yoda let out a low groan before his mossy eyes opened again and sought Windu's.

"Young Skywalker, disappeared he has."

Windu frowned, startled and searched through the Force for the young Padawan and found that he, like Yoda had said, had disappeared. His quizzical eyes fell on the small Jedi and he cocked his head to the side letting his features ask the questions.

"Know where to, I do not. Contact Knight Kenobi we must."

Mace and Yoda walked as quickly as they could to the communication tower, neither saying anything in hopes their silence would allow the Force to inform them of what had happened. They could sense that the Padawan hadn't died – they couldn't feel Obi-Wan's distress – but his disappearance in the Force was no less puzzling. People didn't just _disappear_.

Something had happened to Anakin Skywalker and they had to know what.

--

"Confusing, this information is, Knight Kenobi."

Obi-Wan nodded to the holographic image of Yoda and Windu that floated in front of the transmission centre in Varykino's communication room. The fact that Yoda was confused about what had happened did nothing to comfort Obi-Wan. He felt entirely useless simply sitting; he wanted to go back to Coruscant and find Anakin. Although, what he could do on Coruscant that he couldn't do at Varykino, he didn't know. He just felt like Coruscant was where he should be.

"If I may, Masters, I would like to return to Coruscant. It seems that nowhere is safe for the Senator." He hoped that by injecting his views on the safety of the Senator he would sway the two Masters.

"A plot I sense," Windu spoke, his brow furrowed in contemplation. "To draw us into the Senator's presence."

Yoda nodded as did Obi-Wan. It was confusing, certainly, that the Dark Side would be after the Senator. Had the attacks on the Senator's life been a ploy to lure the Jedi into her protection so they could take the Chosen One? Obi-Wan didn't know and he wanted answers. He needed answers. But the answers that were floating to the surface of his mind were not ones he liked to think about. Darkness permeated everything, was it really so far fetched to believe that it could be weaved within the Senate? Senator Amidala herself? Was she the one who had set everything up? Hadn't he and Anakin felt darkness on their entrance to Padmé's home?

_No_. It couldn't be Padmé. He had sensed her confusion out on the lake.

"Speak with the council we will," Yoda spoke breaking Obi-Wan from his thoughts.

"In the mean time, Obi-Wan, pack yours and the Senator's things in preparation to return to Coruscant. We will speak with you once we have spoken with the council. Stay at your location, don't contact anyone and be open to the Force," Windu continued and Obi-Wan nodded again.

"Meditate on this, you must, Obi-Wan," Yoda added with a pointed look and a hint of knowing in his voice. Obi-Wan saw Mace turn to Yoda with a confused look in his eye but Obi-Wan simply nodded.

"Yes Masters."

He heard the door open behind him and he turned to see Padmé standing there, dressed in a simple dark gown, her hair pulled away from her face by an ornate headpiece.

"Oh, sorry to interrupt, I just…" Obi-Wan caught her eye and understood. _She didn't want to be alone._

"Senator Amidala," Yoda spoke and Obi-Wan saw her take a step closer to him so Yoda could see her as well as hear her.

"Master Yoda, Master Windu," she said regally and bowed slightly, acknowledging them both.

"It is good to see you well. We must ask you not to make any transmissions… Do not interact with anyone," Windu said and Obi-Wan frowned, wondering what Windu was hinting at. "Knight Kenobi will discuss certain arrangements with you. For the moment, we must speak with the Council."

"Yes, Masters," Obi-Wan repeated. "May the Force be with you," he added as an after thought and reached up to turn the communicator off after the two Masters returned the phrase.

Silence followed for a few moments where neither of the two knew what to say. Silence was something neither one of them wanted, as it led to thoughts and feelings that neither truly wanted to acknowledge. Obi-Wan wondered how Padmé was feeling: having watched the two of them during the past two days, he had come to realise that the two had feelings for one another, feelings that they shouldn't have. An image arrived, unwanted and unbidden in his head of Anakin's body being cremated, in the traditional ceremonial funeral of Jedi. He breathed sharply and shook his head. He started slightly, when he felt a hand on his shoulder, having momentarily forgotten that Padmé was there with him.

He mentally shook himself. He had forgotten that the person he was trying to protect was with him. He had to pull himself together, he realised, if he wanted to fulfill his mandate.

"I could prepare us some dinner," Padmé murmured, her voice shaking slightly.

If he was honest with himself, Obi-Wan was not at all hungry but he knew that he had to eat, and that Padmé had to keep herself occupied. As did he.

"That would be good. We will discuss arrangements once I've heard from the council again." He watched as she nodded, her eyes averting from his. He watched as her shoulders shuddered and he stood up slowly, placing his arms on her upper arms. "We will find him Padmé." She looked up into his eyes and Obi-Wan felt naked. He wasn't used to having someone search him like this, so openly through his eyes. He could block people from his mind but from his eyes… from his fears… He was defenseless.

"You don't really believe that, Obi-Wan," she murmured, shaking her head as her eyes drifted off again.

"I have to. You have to believe it, too." He didn't know why he was trying to reassure her. He couldn't even reassure himself that they would find him. Or, more accurately, that they would find him _alive_.

Another few minutes of tense silence passed as Padmé tried to hold back her sobs, though her tears escaped and trickled down her face.

"He just came into my life," she sobbed eventually and Obi-Wan retracted his arms in order to look at her distressed face. "I can't lose him. I…"

Obi-Wan didn't know what to say. He wasn't used to comforting women. Or anyone, for that matter. He knew, partly, what she was feeling. He had lost his Master after all but… she had lost someone who he was sure she was falling in love with.

_No, she hasn't lost him yet._

"Senator…" She flinched at his use of her title. "Padmé, Anakin is a Jedi. He swore an oath to the Jedi Order, an order not easily broken. What you feel for him… he can't return – not in the way I'm sure you want him to."

"Don't you think I know that, Obi-Wan?" She said with admonishment, her voice rising with her anger. "I know I can't be with him but it doesn't stop me from feeling these things, nothing that you or, or the Council can say will change how I feel!" She pulled herself away as he attempted to reach out to her again. "No! I tried to deny it, tried to pretend that I didn't feel anything for him! I've only known him for two days – how is it possible I feel _anything _for him, let alone these… these feelings that are tearing me apart? Tell me that Master Jedi, please, because I _don't know!_"

Before he could answer, she turned on her heel and marched out of the room, her hair flailing behind her. He watched her retreat and he sighed. He hadn't meant to anger her and yet he had. What she had said was true, he couldn't rid her of her feelings but he knew he had to tell her the things she had to know. He'd seen the way she had looked at Anakin that day. _Force, had it really only been an hour or so before that all of this happened?_

He sighed again and let out a low groan.

"He's going to be the death of me," he murmured as he grasped his cloak and walked out into the cooling night to check the perimeter, ignoring the small R2 droid shadowing him.

--

"Granta Omega," Anakin muttered darkly, his neck rising off the bed so he could glare at the man. He ignored the pain in his body at the movement. "I can't say that I'm happy to see you."

He saw Granta smirk darkly as he leaned closer to Anakin's face.

"I can say I'm happy to see you, Skywalker. Your head will make me a great price."

Anakin smirked back at him, ignoring the other person in the room.

"I didn't know you were a bounty hunter, Granta. I thought you were better than that."

Granta snorted and stood up again, moving away from Anakin's dark gaze.

"I see Master Ti has settled into her position on the council very well. It didn't take them long to replace dear Master Yaddle, did it?"

Anakin struggled against his body's restraints, trying to flail a weak arm in Granta's direction but to no avail. His body screamed in protest and he tried to hide his pain behind a mask of anger.

"You _cridor_," Anakin spat at him as he felt the other presence draw closer to him.

Granta laughed loudly and leaned so close to Anakin's face that he could feel the hot, stale breath wash over his face. He wanted to lurch his head forward and strike Omega but his muscles failed him.

"If either of us is the _cridor_, Jedi, it is you. _You _had the chance to stop me from detonating the weapon but you didn't. _You _let me kill Master Yaddle."

Anakin shook his head defiantly but mentally he was cowering. Granta was speaking the truth. He could have stopped Granta. He _should _have stopped Granta from detonating that weapon but he hadn't. Why hadn't he stopped him?

"Enough!" The voice was female and Anakin didn't recognise it. "My Master won't tolerate this! We should move him to a cell where he can be properly detained."

Anakin closed his eyes and concentrated on reconnecting with the Force. He tried to ignore the two figures around him, tried to drown out their voices. He wondered where he was, who had taken him, where he was going… how they had managed to block him from the Force. Or, had that even been something that they had done? Had the Force simply abandoned him? He didn't like to think of that so he turned his mind to something else. He searched his mind for his bond with Obi-Wan. He felt it but it was thin – too thin. He fought against the block in his mind and tried to force a surge of energy through the frail bond.

Did Obi-Wan think he was dead?

_No, _he wouldn't. He would still be able to sense the bond that Anakin could. He sighed slightly at the realisation that he would not be left on his own. His people would come for him.

He hoped.

The voices grew dimmer in his ears as he forced himself into a slight meditative trance to try and heal some of his aches. He felt a tingling in his hands and he immediately shot his mind to his bond with Obi-Wan, seeing it brighter than before, he tried to push his thoughts through, his feelings, his signature so he would have a better chance of being found.

And just as suddenly as it arrived, a wall slammed up against his mind and he opened his eyes, seeing the woman standing over him. He didn't pay attention to her, instead, he pushed himself up into a sitting position and glared at her menacing black eyes.

"Your mind is blocked. You can't find your friends. They can't find you," she spoke and her words were like velvet in his ears. He didn't know how someone whose voice sounded so good could be so evil. Or was she evil? Who was she? He didn't know. He _wanted_ to know. She turned her piercing stare back to Granta and shoved her thumb into Anakin's face. "He needs a cell. I don't know why you even _thought_ of leaving him in here unattended," she spat at Granta and Anakin could tell that the two didn't get on. He might be able to use that to his advantage.

He sat up straighter but she turned towards him before he could do anything and threw her hand in his direction, sending his head backwards so that it hit against the wall behind him and he fell, again, into dark unconsciousness.

--

"It's a total eclipse tonight," Padmé said to Obi-Wan as he joined her on the balcony that surrounded the house. He glanced to the sky and saw that the moon was indeed partially covered. He could see red tinges around the edge at the bottom and he smiled. He remembered when Anakin had seen his first total lunar eclipse: he had been only eleven at the time and they were on Alderaan visiting one of Obi-Wan's friends. He had been awed. He stood rooted to the spot on the Jedi outpost on Alderaan, his head upturned towards the sky with his mouth hanging open. Obi-Wan had been unable to move the young boy and, when he let himself marvel at the natural beauty around him, he found he didn't want to move either. He smiled sadly and shook his head. "I apologise for my behaviour earlier Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan shook his head and moved to stand closer to the young woman.

"It's quite all right, I'm used to temper tantrums with Anakin," he laughed slightly and glanced at her to see if she was smiling.

"You must be very proud of him," she spoke again, turning her eyes to him with a small smile playing on her lips. "You have done an excellent job."

Obi-Wan smiled modestly and ducked his head.

"Thank you and yes, I am. He has come a long way considering he was late into the Order." They were silenced again and continued to stare up at the starry sky. He _was_ proud of Anakin, he wouldn't deny it but he sometimes wondered if Anakin should have had an older Master, someone who was more experienced – he himself had only recently become a Knight when he was given Anakin as his charge. Granted, he could have said no but there was something about the boy… He hadn't been able to say no.

"How do you know he isn't dead?" Padmé whispered eventually and she turned to him again, her eyes filled with tears.

Obi-Wan moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to him, hoping to comfort her with the small gesture.

"Our bond isn't broken, it has just thinned." He smiled down at her as she looked up at him. "He's alive, Padmé. And I will find him." He looked out over the lake in front of him once again and smiled. "I have to."

--

Master Yoda bowed his head once again trying to connect with the Force but his thoughts were running awry and he couldn't gather them together. He opened his eyes once more and concentrated on the fountain in front of him and sighed deeply.

Young Skywalker was one of his children, a powerful one, and his absence in the Force was daunting and draining. The Force wasn't weeping, like it did when one of its' own was dead, it seemed to be sheltering the young man, protecting him. From what, Yoda didn't know. He wanted to believe that it was from whoever had captured him but something was whispering to Yoda that he was being protected from himself.

He had sensed a slight flair in the Force, as though the Chosen One had broken through his barrier but it had quickly been diminished and Yoda had been unable to make out where it had come from in the Force, it's presence too fleeting even for him to catch. He wondered if Obi-Wan had caught it but he doubted it. Even though the Knight was increasingly powerful, he wasn't focused enough recently to catch such a flutter.

Yoda gave up meditating and hobbled over to his hover chair and made his way to the Council Chamber where a meeting had been set up so that the Council could give its verdict on what to do with Senator Amidala. She was turning into a burden and she shouldn't be, being passed around from Jedi to Jedi. He and Master Windu had spoken at length concerning the Senator and her place in this puzzle. There was still mystery and he hoped the puzzle would unravel itself in due course.

Windu stood as Yoda entered the room and Yoda nodded to him, as he did with all the other Masters and took his seat in the semi-circle. He pressed a button and the holo-field in front of him fluttered before coming blank as they waited for Obi-Wan to answer.

"Did you have any luck with your meditations, Master Yoda?" Master Depa Billaba, the Chalactan, asked.

Yoda simply shook his head grimly and the other Masters shared a glance.

"Obi-Wan here," Kenobi's voice resounded around the room as his image came into focus.

Wherever he was, it was dark and certainly not the communication room at Varykino. He was huddled over his comm. link, with his cloak pulled tightly around him, a breeze blowing his hair out of its normal shed.

"Knight Kenobi," Windu greeted him and the other Masters nodded. "Where are you?"

They could see a look of guilt swim across Obi-Wan's face and Yoda sighed loudly once again.

"I'm out on the lake where Anakin disappeared."

The other Masters looked at one another but Yoda shook his head.

"Instruct you to meditate, did I not, Obi-Wan?" Yoda sounded irritated and he stamped his gimmer stick on the ground to emphasise his point.

Obi-Wan's blue image nodded and he looked left and right before answering.

"Yes, Master, and I did. That's how I ended up out here!" The breeze had picked up and the Council could see Obi-Wan rock from side to side.

"Is that such a wise idea?" Adi Gallia asked as she leaned forward as though to prevent Obi-Wan from toppling over the side. She was fond of the young Knight, had trained him when he was still a youngling and she didn't want to see the fate that had befallen his Padawan to befall him.

"I don't know, Master Gallia." Gallia smirked, as did a few of the other Masters but Yoda looked grim. "At the time it did. I felt as though I had to come out here…"

"Have you found anything?" Eeth Koth asked and Obi-Wan turned in his direction. Obi-Wan always felt slightly awkward when facing the Zabrak, as he was reminded of the Sith he had slain who had killed his Master.

"Now that I am out here, no." He shook his head.

"And what of the Senator?" Windu asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"She's back at the house. I shouldn't have left her but…"

"Turning into your Padawan more and more, you are Knight Kenobi. The wrong way around, is that not?" Yoda asked mirthfully and a few of the Masters chuckled lightly but Obi-Wan frowned.

"I'm sorry Masters. I have no excuse." He paused as he looked guiltily at the twelve council members. "What of the Senator? Are we to return to Coruscant?"

Windu sat further forward on his seat and clasped his hands together under his chin.

"It has been decided that you are to return to Coruscant, if you believe there are no leads on Naboo as to how to find your Padawan. The Senator will stay in the Temple." Obi-Wan was clearly shocked by the last statement but he recovered well. "It is the safest place for her at the moment and at least she will be back on Coruscant."

Obi-Wan nodded and glanced quickly to his left again.

"Is something wrong, Obi-Wan?" Gallia asked, concerned.

"I… I'm all right." He nodded resolutely.

"Return to Coruscant as soon as possible, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan nodded.

"Use only passenger transport you must. Know you have returned, no one can." The other members of the council nodded in agreement with Yoda and Obi-Wan frowned slightly, his red hued hair blowing around his eyes.

"Yes Masters." He looked to his left again. "I had better go, the wind is picking up and this boat…" he trailed off and looked skeptically at the wooden hull.

"Of course, Knight Kenobi. May the Force be with you," Windu concluded and the holo-image disappeared.

Yoda sat back and clasped his claw around his stick. He did not like what he was sensing in the Force. The sooner Obi-Wan arrived back on Coruscant, the better.


	7. Part 6

The room of a thousand fountains was a place where Obi-Wan always felt at peace and that was exactly where he found himself only minutes after arriving back at the Temple. Senator Amidala had been escorted off to her temporary room by a young Padawan and Obi-Wan had been told that the Council would see him in two hours. He had went back to his own room, stopping for a moment at the door to Anakin's room but he hadn't entered. He couldn't. No doubt, the council would order him to search Anakin's room for an idea as to his whereabouts but he just couldn't do it then.

He sighed and leaned back against a large oriental tree and stretched the muscles in his neck and heard the bones click a few times. It felt good to be home and yet so entirely unsettling. His mind had been active for too many hours and he was beginning to feel a dull ache in his temples. He had been awake all the previous night, not wanting to fall asleep in case anything had happened to the Senator. He had filled her in on the details of their return to Coruscant before she had retired to bed. He had felt her presence awake for several hours before sleep finally claimed her. He then sent Artoo to recharge while he settled into the over stuffed sofa and tuned into the living world around him.

The night had been surprisingly uneventful though Obi-Wan was glad. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to fight if something had happened. The quietness of the night only heightened his thoughts that the Senator wasn't the main prize in these attempts on her life – it was Anakin, he was sure. And the attacks on the senator's life were the only way for whoever it was the get Anakin into the picture. He sighed and opened his eyes, wondering if it was only his imagination or if the Council were thinking the same things as him.

He knew the Dark Side – the Sith – had to be behind it: Anakin was of no real value to anyone else. Every rebel group knew that a Jedi was trained to sacrifice his life for others. However, in the past, the Jedi had blended into the background but with Anakin – Force, even with himself at times – the press and mass love for "the hero with no fear" had made him – and consequently the Jedi – a very prominent figure in the day to day lives of the mass public. Surely the Separatists, or similar groups, hadn't simply kidnapped Anakin so as to cause uproar – that would only lose them support. He groaned and looked about the room, seeing two young Padawans talking together at a tree further around the main pond and he smiled. Sometimes he missed being a Padawan.

He recognised the boy – Ferus Olin, Siri Tachi's Padawan – but he could not see the other properly, though he imagined it was Darra Thel-Tanis as the two were good friends. He would have gone over to speak to the pair but he didn't know quite what to say to them if they asked after Anakin – normally, as Ferus would tell anyone who would listen, Anakin would follow Obi-Wan around like a shadow. Obi-Wan was neither prepared for it emotionally or mentally. He didn't even know what to say, if the Council would let him tell the two that a Padawan had gone missing. A Padawan going missing was bad enough, without that Padawan being Anakin Skywalker.

So Obi-Wan stood and stretched a few times, returning the bow that Ferus sent him after finally noticing him before he made to leave the room. He saw Siri on the other side, sitting at a tree alone and he let his mind wander to find her signature, giving it a friendly brush before leaving the room completely. Outside in the corridor, he felt a slight chill run down his spine and he looked around but saw nothing.

He was probably just tired.

With that in mind, he headed towards his quarters for some much needed sleep.

--

Padmé opened her eyes and found herself looking at a dull grey ceiling. She sighed and pulled the blankets closer around her body. A chill had set into her bones early the previous night and she had yet to be rid of it. The cool interior of the Jedi Temple did not help matters, either.

_The Jedi Temple_… She could not quite believe that she was to stay in the Temple, the sacred heart of the Jedi Order. It was astounding and yet so surreal. As she had passed through many corridors, she was amazed by the over-whelming size of the building – the height of the ceilings, the width of the corridors… The temple always looked huge from outside but inside… it was immense. She had walked the corridors for ten minutes to get to her room and she had not passed a single person. It was disconcerting, to be sure but she simply could not feel nervous when calmness oozed from the walls.

Her escort had been the stereotypical stoic young Padawan – so different from Anakin. Anakin was nervous, timid but certainly never stoic. _And the way he looked at her_… She sighed and stood up, finally giving up on the idea of sleep. She looked about the dim quarters and wondered what she would do with herself to keep occupied. She wondered if Obi-Wan would visit, or anyone. She wished that Dormé could come but Padmé knew that no one could know of her whereabouts. She knew it was for the best but she also didn't want to stay idle. The vote on the Creation of an Army act was scheduled for the next day and she desperately wanted to be a part of it. She trusted Jar-Jar not to do anything against her wishes but sometimes the Gungan didn't know how to hold his tongue.

Not only that, she felt helpless sitting in a room in the heart of the Jedi Temple – she felt like a burden. She wanted to help keep the rapidly diminishing peace in the Republic, she wanted to wander freely but most of all, she wanted to help search for Anakin. She knew that she would be of no great value but she felt like she had to do something. But she also knew that the Jedi would prohibit it.

Padmé's stomach groaned and she looked down then looked around the room.

_How was she going to get something to eat?_

--

Chancellor Palpatine sat in his office facing Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan - a handsome young man -, Representative Binks and Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila. It was a rather distinctive group – with, perhaps, the exception of Jar-Jar – and the Chancellor listened to them diligently.

"It seems that the separatists have amassed an army of Clones from somewhere, your Supremacy," Organa stated and the Chancellor nodded grimly.

"Yes, I've heard of this atrocity too. I fear that it may sway the Senate to vote in favour of this most recent act. What do you think, Representative Binks? What do you think Senator Amidala would do in this situation?"

The Chancellor knew very well that the Gungan was weak minded but he also knew that, for the moment, he had to be Chancellor Palpatine and leave Darth Sidious behind the mundane mask. It had become more and more difficult for him the keep his balance right, what with the Dark Side being so strong recently. He had to meditate more often than he ever had and he was seeing things, visions, premonitions of his grand rise to power. He knew the Gungan would be vital in his manipulations.

The only missing piece of the puzzle was Padmé Amidala. She seemed to have disappeared from his senses and he did not like that one bit. The only people who could hide her from him would be the Jedi and he cackled internally at the thought. If only they knew that their actions were playing right into his hands. The downfall of the Jedi was finally coming, and they had no idea.

"Mesa thinks that Miss Padmé would still opposa da motion," Binks replied in his usual disgusting basic dialect.

Palpatine barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Yes, the Senator most definitely would still oppose the Creation of an Army act but her attempts to turn the Senate in her favour would be futile.

"It is no coincidence that this news of the Separatist Army has leaked out on the eve of the voting on our act. They must have planned this from the beginning," Mon Mothma continued and Organa nodded in agreement.

"It has certainly been a calculated move. One we should have expected, no doubt."

Palpatine was only half listening. There had been a flare in the Force and he concentrated on that. His mind searched out for the Jedi's precious 'Chosen One' but he did not sense him at all.

_Curious…_

His mind found Obi-Wan, far too close to be on Naboo. Had the young Knight returned to Coruscant and hidden his Padawan and the Senator? It seemed unlikely that the Jedi would leave Anakin alone – he knew they did not trust him. The under-estimated his value: a mistake Palpatine was not making.

"Chancellor Palpatine?" Palpatine looked up at Organa's concerned face and realised he had been immersed in the Force for too long. "Are you all right?"

Palpatine nodded slowly, in an attempt to look frail and condemned.

"It's just a small head ache, nothing to worry about. All of this pressure gets even to the best of us," Palpatine continued with a wary smile as he raised his hand up to his forehead.

"We will take our leave, then, your Excellency," Organa replied as he stood up, followed by the other two.

Once the door to his office closed, Palpatine drew the blinds over his window with the Force and settled himself on the floor in a meditative state. He had to find the Padawan and the Senator. He needed them for the next stage of his plan.

--

Anakin opened his eyes and awakened to the room. The first thing he felt was that he was no longer comfortable. He was on a hard bed of some kind, his feet and hands bound to the four corners. He glanced down to his body as he felt a chill run through him and he realised he was almost completely naked – only his under garments covering his body. There were no blankets, or windows and the room was cold. Too cold. He shivered again. He pulled against the restraints on his wrists and ankles but to no avail. He was stuck. He was blocked from the Force and he was _stuck._

_Great. _Just what he needed.

His head pounded at his temples and he winced at the sudden sharp pain there. He didn't like headaches. He didn't like headaches just about as much as he didn't like Granta Omega. _Granta…_

He wanted to vomit at the thought of the name, of the man who had killed Master Yaddle, who had tried to kill so many innocent civilian lives. But then, hadn't he had the chance to stop Granta, to save Yaddle? He'd seen it happen, saw it the night before in a dream. But, of course, he'd thought it was just a dream and so didn't put much stock on his apparent vision. But only if he had, if only he'd listened to the Force instead of rationalising everything. He hadn't told Obi-Wan, how could he? The older man would have told him that dreams pass in time. It was his answer to everything nowadays.

He let out a frustrated squeal and jerked once more against the restraints. His stomach growled in hunger and he grunted at his body's ironic timing. He was hungry though. He felt weak from hunger and he hated it. He hated feeling weak, vulnerable with no way of escape.

"You're awake," a groggy voice said behind him and he tried to crane his neck to look at the woman but he couldn't move enough. "I didn't think you were going to wake up." Her voice was the velvety richness that he remembered from earlier and he only wished he could see her face, to know what his kidnapper looked like.

No doubt, she was the mastermind behind his capture – something of which he still wasn't sure – because there was no way Granta would have been able to catch him. How had she managed to get him from Naboo to… wherever they were without having been on the planet?

Or had she been? He didn't know, his memory of events after his meditation were hazy. When he thought back on it, it seemed as though he was in some sort of trance, as though the Force was urging him out onto the boat. Surely, the Force hadn't wanted him to be captured?

He heard a shuffling and he imagined her standing up, felt her presence move towards him. He flinched when he felt her cool hand on his cheek and he turned his eyes towards her. He tried to ignore the shivers that went through his body at her touch. His eyes met hers, dark and cold and lifeless. He might as well have been looking into the eyes of a dead beast. Her skin was ivory, her red lips full and smirking, her jaw line defined and her cheekbones prominent. The most startling of all was her hair: it was like shattered shards of white ice standing in different directions. He wanted to reach up and touch the long shards to see if they were as sharp as they looked. His eyes travelled down her body, noting she was dressed all in black – he rolled his eyes at the utter cliché – and her tight outfit was the same synth-leather as his tunic. There was a thin white belt around her hips and from it hung, much to Anakin's surprise, a lightsaber.

She studied him with her dead eyes and Anakin tried to catch a glimmer of white in them but there was none. He shuddered under her invasive gaze and he sneered at her. She smirked and ran her hand down his chest, over his muscles before spreading her fingers flat over his cheek, forcing his face in her direction.

"You're far more attractive than your holo-images give you credit for," she said smoothly and Anakin simply raised his eyebrow. "Tell me, do you enjoy being the _poster-boy_ for the Jedi Order?"

Anakin shuddered again and jerked his head away from her touch. She was clearly well informed and her use of Obi-Wan's term for his popularity rattled him.

Where was Obi-Wan, anyway? Was he searching for him? Was he in this place? Wherever this place was. He hoped Obi-Wan was searching for him.

"You're on board Omega's ship," she said as she moved around the edge of his 'bed'. Her heels clicked on the floor and Anakin frowned at the thought of her wearing high-heeled shoes. He followed her with his eyes as she moved around him before coming to stop at the bottom of the stone table. She leaned her hands on the edges, dangerously close to Anakin's feet and leaned forward, so close the Anakin could her warm breath on the bottom of his stomach. "A pitiful excuse for a ship really. We had to gut one of the rooms to make way for this little cell." She pulled back and gestured around the barren room. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

Anakin only smiled, refusing to use his voice. He looked away towards a point on the wall. He would not give into her. He wondered if she was searching his mind for information: he felt entirely disconnected from the world around him.

"Granta wanted to me to kill you straight away," she continued as she moved to his left hand side and perched on the stone edge, her back to his face. He felt her finger on his leg, tracing a small scar he had acquired on a particularly risqué mission when he was younger. "Gods, what a fine specimen of a man you are, Chosen One," she muttered and turned back to look at him. Anakin felt sick to his stomach at the lust he saw on her face, her eyes briefly flashing. He bit his lip to stop the retort that was on the tip of his tongue. "You're too stubborn, young one. Your mind is well shielded." She ran her hand through Anakin's hair and tugged on it gently, lowering her mouth so it was mere millimetres from his own. She smelled wonderful, Anakin mused, as his eyes fluttered between her scarlet lips and her pitch black eyes. Both such a beautiful contrast to her pale, pale skin. She locked her eyes on his and he could sense her smile. "But I _will_ break you. By the time my Master gets you… You will be ready. You will be nothing."

Anakin laughed manically, before he pushed his face to hers.

"I don't think so."

She stood up abruptly and Anakin felt himself pushed back onto the cold stone slab with a Force push. She looked him over one last time before she disappeared out of the small room without so much as a backward glance.

So his captor was a Force user, he mused as his mind pondered over this. And she wielded a lightsaber. The only other person he could think of who was like her was Assaj Ventress, the Dark Jedi but this woman was clearly not her. He frowned and tried to swallow but his mouth was too dry and it felt like he was swallowing scrapings of metal.

_Obi-Wan_, he thought, _please find me…_

--

"Knight Kenobi, some information we have," Yoda announced as he entered his small meditating quarters with Master Windu in tow.

Obi-Wan perked up at that and sat down on one of the small cushions that smattered the floor.

"About Anakin?" He asked eventually when it seemed neither of the two would continue. He was frustrated with the Council's apparent lack of _care _that his apprentice was missing, quite possibly in the hands of the dark side.

"We're not sure," Windu muttered and Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows sceptically. "It's about Finis Valorum."

Obi-Wan was startled by that.

"Chancellor Valorum?"

"Former Chancellor Valorum, yes," Windu continued. "It seems he is rather against Chancellor Palpatine. He has joined with the Separatists but it is believed that he is trying to create a breakaway group and has caused some problems for a planet that we… can't quite find in the Archives."

This was a night full of surprises. The Jedi were looking for a planet that wasn't on any of the Jedi Archives – it seemed impossible, since the Jedi Archives were known for their vastness and for the mass of knowledge that was gathered over the past millennia. But Obi-Wan was weary – it seemed that the Council were going to send him to look for this errant planet when he should be out looking for his Padawan. His frustration grew.

"Calm yourself, you must, Obi-Wan," Yoda stated knowingly and Obi-Wan had to try not to roll his eyes or smile sarcastically at the Master.

"Surely if a planet isn't in the Archives, it doesn't exist?"

"Says Master Nu also," Yoda said with a pointed look at Windu that left Obi-Wan slightly confused, but even more frustrated. "Hear from this planet we did, from a void in space it seemed."

"It was the people on the planet who contacted you?" Obi-Wan asked. "Why would they give up their anonymity?"

"That we do not know. Go, you must, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan shook his head.

"Absolutely not. I want to look for Anakin. My Padawan, who has gone missing, who you all seem to have forgotten about on such short notice! I shave to find him and sending me to this unknown planet is preposterous!"

Obi-Wan had once known when to hold his tongue but it seems as though that knowledge had diminished with age. He once would have felt appalled by his behaviour but now he didn't care. He felt like the Council was giving up on Anakin when they had absolutely no right to.

"Go you must, Obi-Wan," Yoda repeated.

"The Council has sensed that there is more happening on this planet than we are aware and we need to know what it is."

Obi-Wan simply shook his head and stood up. He couldn't believe it.

"Send the information to my droid. I'm going to see the Senator."

Obi-Wan left the room and the two Jedi Master's looked at one another.

"A dark cloud surrounds young Kenobi," Yoda mused as he watched the young man's retreating form.

Windu nodded and made a contemplative sound.

"His attachment to the boy has grown far beyond that of a Master and Padawan. He sees Skywalker as his brother," Windu concluded and looked down to the diminutive Yoda.

"Dangerous, this can be when so close the Dark Side is."

The two fell into a contemplative silence as they immersed themselves in the Force.


	8. Part 7

Author's Note: I am so terribly sorry was not updating last week but things got entirely too hectic. But, here is a new part. Hope you enjoy it all.

**Part 7**

"Fight!"

The strange woman who still remained nameless to Anakin shouted as she circled around him dangerously. He didn't quite understand what was happening. He had been dragged from his cell half a standard hour before and was given a pair of short trousers and a sleeveless shirt to wear before being tossed into what looked like a training room. He had stood there simply looking around for a few minutes until the woman had entered with Granta in tow. Granta had tossed Anakin a lightsaber slightly askew and Anakin automatically reached his hand out to call it to him with the Force but nothing happened. He cringed as the saber fell to the floor with a loud clang. The woman had cackled while Granta simply smirked.

"It's not so easy without the Force, is it, Padawan?" The woman taunted and Anakin simply followed her with his eyes. She had yet to ignite her lightsaber and until she did, Anakin would not ignite his. Fighting without the Force wasn't easy but he had done it before – it was one of the things a Padawan had to learn at a young age and Anakin had done just that. But still, he would have preferred to have the Force on his side.

She had stripped of her long top and was wearing a tight white shirt with cropped sleeves and he could see her toned and muscular arms. She wielded the saber with a great ease that made him wonder if she had ever been a Padawan. He doubted it, but he wondered.

"He won't fight," Granta spoke up from the corner of the room but Anakin did not turn towards him. "He's too much of a coward." Anakin rolled his eyes at the recurring insult and saw that the woman smirked too, but at Granta, not Anakin. He wondered if she was getting as tired with him as he was.

The woman began circling again, swinging the saber hilt around as though it were ignited. He studied the one in his hand. It was crude and rudimentary, a design that Anakin had never seen before with its curved handle, with another curve around it to secure it to the hand – it felt more like a blaster in his hand than his proficient lightsaber. The extra handle made it difficult to manoeuvre he discovered as he began swirling it around. He took a step to the side and curiosity won him over as he ignited the blade. When he did, he stared at it in wonder, never having seen a lightsaber with a white blade before – the only colour other than red, blue and green that Anakin had ever seen was the violet of Master Windu's.

He heard The Woman ignite her saber and he turned to look at hers, equally shocked to see that her blade was _black_. She smiled amusedly at the confused expression on his face and Anakin wished he hadn't been so open with his feelings.

He may not be able to use the Force but that didn't mean that _she _couldn't.

"These are two of the oldest lightsabers in the galaxy," she spoke as she swirled around him, stepping carefully and Anakin noted that her left leg seemed weaker than the right. He also saw – now that he concentrated – that there was a black metal winding around her right arm, disappeared under her shirt and appeared on her left arm, only white, instead of black. He frowned. She held her saber directly in front of her face and studied the matt black blade. "They represent the two sides of the Force."

Anakin nodded almost imperceptibly. He'd heard of two such lightsabers but never had their existence been proven and the Jedi considered them a myth now. He wondered if they really were the originals or if they were something that The Woman had created by herself. He snapped his blade off and hung the saber from his index finger, studying it. He noticed that the grip was worn away and some of the design around the hilt was gone. It really was old. Ancient even.

He looked over to the woman and noticed that she too had de-ignited her lightsaber and their eyes locked. Her eyes were so dark and tempting and he didn't truly understand the shudder that went through his body. He could tell that this woman was dangerous – more dangerous than he had given her credit for and he would give anything right at that moment to be able to look at her through the Force and see _her_.

But he couldn't. He knew deep inside that he really didn't want to.

But he did. He wanted to know her so very, very badly.

He shook himself from his thoughts with a grunt and ignited his lightsaber, taking a sharp stride towards her. He knew he wouldn't be getting out of the makeshift training room until he had sparred with The Woman.

--

The planet that Obi-Wan descended upon in his Star Fighter was, to say the least, dismal. Covered in thick grey clouds, the black waters churned against the legs of the small pods that housed the cities. He had managed to evade the Control Ship that was in orbit around the planet but he was finding it difficult to find a place to land his Fighter safely. Droids seemed to swarm from every orb and he couldn't see a place through the rain to land. He hated the rain. He never understood why Anakin was so enthralled by the rain but then, the boy had come from a desert planet where rain was a scarcity.

He hovered over the planet, scanning it hoping to find a place to set the ship down and evade being detected by the swarms of droids on the ground. His screen flashed as a communication came through and he pressed 'receive'. On his small video screen was a thin white face on a long neck – the creature was obviously one of the inhabitants of the planet.

"Master Jedi," the voice was soft and feminine and Obi-Wan was distracted by the large, unblinking eyes. "We are sending you co-ordinates of a safe place to land."

The screen went blank and he watched as the co-ordinates came up on his screen. He let Arfour pilot them to them and land. He really didn't want to jump out of the cockpit, not when the rain was falling as hard as it was. Eventually, he jumped out of the cockpit and ordered Arfour to stay with the ship as he pulled his hood up in a vain attempt to keep from being soaked through. He entered through a glass door into a pristine white corridor. The corridor was cool and when the doors closed, Obi-Wan could still hear the rain falling on the landing platform outside. He slid his hood down and saw a tall, long-limbed creature walking towards him and he shook his hair of some water as it approached.

"Master Jedi." It was the same one that had spoken to him through the communication system. He nodded respectfully to the creature as she returned the gesture. "I am Taun We." Obi-Wan nodded again and fell into step beside the graceful creature as she began walking away. "We have been waiting for you. The Prime Minister will see you in his quarters."

They walked down many pristine white corridors that were impeccably clean and sterile looking. His beige robes looked distinctly out of place against the brilliant white. Outside, Obi-Wan could hear the wind howling on the dismal planet and he thanked the Force that he was inside. They stopped at a door and Taun We waited until it opened. Inside the walls were silver and there was a lone chair in the centre of the room where another lean alien life form sat.

"Master Kenobi, may I present Lama Su, Prime Minister of Kamino."

Obi-Wan nodded towards the Prime Minister and he returned the gesture.

"We have been expecting you," Lama Su announced and Obi-Wan frowned slightly. He didn't like the idea that he had been 'expected' – were these people friends or foes? Why was there thousands of battle droids oppressing their planet? He wondered as Taun We left the room, leaving himself the Prime Minister alone. "It is an honour, Master Jedi, but may I ask why Master Sifo-Dyas has not returned?"

Obi-Wan started and stared confusedly at the Kaminoan – he assumed they were Kaminoans, for all he knew Kamino could be the name of the small hub -, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Master Sifo-Dyas?"

"Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas is still a leading member of the Jedi Council, is he not?"

Obi-Wan pursed his lips, not sure how to answer the question. He nodded his head slightly, hoping that the Kaminoan Prime Minister was not empathic, or Force sensitive.

"Why would Master Sifo-Dyas return here?" Obi-Wan asked as he stepped further into the room, feeling a chill run down his spine.

The Kaminoan looked down as though he himself was confused and then his beady eyes settled on Obi-Wan's.

"He is the one who placed the order." Obi-Wan's head began to spin as he thought about what order Lama Su could be talking about and also how he never knew of such an order – or, even more confusing, why the planet had been erased from the databank. Had Sifo-Dyas erased it to cause confusion? Obi-Wan wondered what could be going on here that he didn't know about. "He asked us not to contact the Jedi until he came back to Kamino but with the invasion, we did not know what else we should do. We have had to use some of your clone army to help protect us."

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows until they almost met his hairline and barely refrained from dropping his jaw to the ground. A clone army? Had that been what Sifo-Dyas had ordered? But _why_? Had he foreseen something happening that would require the Republic to have an Army? With the Creation of an Army Act being discussed it may well come to light that the Republic _does _need an army. Would this army have stayed hidden – what with Sifo-Dyas being dead – had the planet not been invaded? Sifo-Dyas had been dead for ten years, at least, and the Kaminoans had managed to stay silent for that long. Who had invaded Kamino?

Obi-Wan didn't know which to ask first.

"I would give you a tour of the facilities and show you your army but the droids do not know of your arrival and I believe that could be to our advantage."

Obi-Wan nodded.

"Who has invaded you, Prime Minister?"

"A man named Valorum. He was here not so many days ago and it was only when he left did I contact you."

Obi-Wan frowned once more. The Council had told him that Valorum had invaded the planet that wasn't in the archives but Obi-Wan had not wanted to believe it. He always had said though, that politicians were never to be trusted.

"Did he say who he was working for? Give any clue if there was some other group or person he was responsible for?"

The Kaminoan stood up and moved towards the wall and Obi-Wan followed behind him. He saw a slender finger reach out to the wall and press an invisible button before the lights in the room dimmed and a holo-screen appeared. A view of the outside of the planet appeared and Obi-Wan watched closely as he saw droids march to and fro on one of the many platforms. The view switched to inside and Obi-Wan realised he was watching a security camera.

Lama Su turned towards him once again and blinked slowly.

"We had an order placed not so long ago for a piece of research that our laboratories were working on aside from the cloning of your Army. We had been experimenting with technologies which could douse the effects of your Force. The Kaminoans are all clones but somehow, no matter how many precautions we take, there are those cloned with a high midichlorian count. We know that we can not risk our small civilization on the upcoming war so we created something to douse the Force."

Obi-Wan was once again startled many times by what the Prime Minister was telling him. The man looked nervous – or as nervous as his eyes would allow him to look – and Obi-Wan could feel the uncertainty swarming off him. What Lama Su said about the upcoming war stuck in his mind and he knew he would have to speak with the Council soon – had Sifo-Dyas foreseen the War? If he had, why hadn't he told the council? Why hadn't Yoda been able to see something? And, not only that, but the Kaminoans had created technology capable of extinguishing the Force? It seemed preposterous.

"What is this technology? Who ordered it?"

Lama Su sat back in his seat and tilted his head so it was resting against the back. To Obi-Wan, he looked tired.

"It was a man called Lord Tyrranus, he came only a few months ago. I can only assume that Valorum is working for him, as the knowledge of the existence of this technology is strictly classified."

Obi-Wan nodded. He absolutely had to contact the Council now. But where would he start? He had so much to tell them and so little time. He nodded towards the Prime Minister before he turned and left, heading back out towards his ship and the rain.

--

"Senator Amidala," Master Yoda spoke to her from below and she looked down and smiled at the petite Jedi.

"Come in, Master Yoda," she replied and stepped aside to allow him into her dull quarters in the heart of the Jedi Temple.

Padmé was always concerned when she heard the grunts and groans of the old Jedi and felt as though she should pick him up and place him on a chair so he didn't strain himself. She smiled at the image and shook her head, knowing that Yoda would not find the situation as amusing as she would.

"Hmmm," Yoda grumbled as he scrambled onto the only armchair in the room.

Padmé sat on the long couch and wondered if she should ask him if he would like anything to drink. Did Yoda drink? She tried to keep her confusion locked but it was fruitless as Yoda smiled towards her.

"Fine, I am, Senator Amidala," he said with a nod.

Padmé blushed slightly and ducked her head, wishing that she had tighter control on her emotions. She remembered hearing once that the revered Master Yoda had locked himself away for a century after being Knighted so he could master the Force. She also remembered hearing that he could eat his cane if he was without food because it was stocked full of nutrients. She eyed the cane that looked distinctly like plain old wood and shook her head again.

"Have you heard any news from Master Kenobi, or about Anakin?"

She heard her slip as soon as she said it but he couldn't take it back.

"Close you and Padawan Skywalker have become. Sense this, I do." Padmé smiled nervously and nodded her head. Yoda groaned again and Padmé winced. "No news have we had from either."

He suddenly looked contemplative and very far away and Padmé took notice once again of the room around her. The only thing the room had going for it, really, was the view of the city. Padmé hated Coruscant but when the sun hit the buildings at certain angles, the shimmering beauty was amazing. She looked back to the ancient Master and wondered, not for the first time, what it must feel like to feel the Force – never mind as strongly as Master Yoda. She knew that Anakin was believed to be "the chosen one" and she wondered if he would ever be as able as Yoda, or if he was more able now already. She hated to think it, but it seemed like a waste that the chosen one was human and would die rather quickly compared to Yoda, and so would not have as much time to Master or pass on his knowledge of the Force.

"Hmmm, a transmission from Knight Kenobi we receive." Padmé perked up at that. "Come you can, do you good some exercise will."

Padmé knew she shouldn't be offended but something in the back of her mind wanted to rebuke him.

"I will, Master Yoda, thank you."

--

"I have successfully made contact with the Prime Minister of Kamino!" Obi-Wan shouted over the howling gale, as he held his cloak tight around him. "Finis Valorum is the one who invaded the planet – there are droids everywhere!"

"Do we know why he invaded the planet?"

Padmé looked to Mace Windu in the darkened communication centre. She wondered why it was only Yoda and Windu in the room with her but decided not to question, just like she didn't question Yoda allowing her to be part of the small group.

Obi-Wan nodded.

"It seems that these Kaminoans are researchers. They have created a Clone Army for the Republic, They say a Master Sifo-Dyas placed the order for a clone army at the request of the Senate almost ten years ago.!"

Padmé saw the shocked expressions on both of people in the room with her. She didn't like those looks. But, then what Obi-Wan had said finally settled into her mind. _An army of the Republic? _The vote on that was going through within the next few days, the debates taking over once again, not allowing a vote to be cast.

"I was under the impression he was killed before that." Padmé saw Windu nod towards the blue flickering screen. "Did the council ever authorize the creation of a clone army?"

Padmé stared hard at the two Jedi in the room with her, trying to keep the accusatory glare from her eyes. She hoped and prayed that the Jedi Council had not ordered such an act of aggression.

"No. Whoever placed that order did not have the authorization of the Jedi Council," Windu responded adamantly, casting a glance to Padmé. She looked apologetic and glanced back to Obi-Wan.

"Hmm… An original there must be for clones to be created, find out who this is you must, Obi-Wan and bring him here." Yoda glanced to Windu. "Question him, we will."

"Yes Master," Obi-Wan responded diligently. "There is something else, Masters." Windu raised his eyebrows while Yoda rested his chin on his fingers which were clasped over his cane. "The Kaminoans have created technology that can douse the effects of the Force… effectively, they have created a Force oppressor that can be worn by individuals to stop them accessing the living Force."

Padmé leaned forward as she gasped. She didn't know that something like that could exist. Was that what they were using on Anakin? Obi-Wan had told her before he had left that Anakin's Force signature was being blocked. Was that perhaps what was happening? If so… how could they possibly find Anakin?

"Wait… Wait…"

Obi-Wan's image flickered and Padmé saw him withdraw his lightsaber and deflect a few blaster shots before his image disappeared.

--

Yantiara de Vassalo stripped off her wet T-shirt. The boy had put up quite a fight until she tapped into the Dark Side and slashed through his arm. It was a shame really. She liked him, despite the fact that he was a _Jedi_. She could feel the irony taste of hatred in the back of her throat at the mention of that word. She tossed her sweat-ridden shirt to the floor, where it landed in a sodden heap. She smelled awful. It had been too long since she had had the chance to fight someone with such prowess, without the Force. He was strong, she could tell from the shape of his body and she wondered what that body would feel like against hers.

She sighed and moved towards the shower, shaking her head of such disgusting thoughts. She shimmied out of her tight pants and stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. She looked so very different now. Back then… she had been beautiful. Her hair had been long and as dark as the night. Her eyes had been full of life and happiness, no traces of pain or anger. She pulled her hand through her short, spiky white hair. She knew she was still attractive but it wasn't the same elegant beauty as before. She had been told many times before that she smouldered now, she looked _dangerous _and that was attractive. Her eyes were cold and held a mystery to them that had bedded her many men.

She was so very different now.

She fingered the intricate metal that weaved around her arms and shoulders. Her last one had been a simple band but that had kept breaking, unleashing her and her Master didn't want that anymore. She created a claw with her fingers and dragged her nails down her chest, drawing blood. She wanted to cry but she couldn't. It wouldn't allow her. She wanted to yell and kick and scream about how entirely unfair this whole situation was. _She _was the Chosen One! She _was _the balance! Instead, she looked into her cold dead reflection and laughed at herself.

_Not anymore._

Not anymore.


	9. Part 8

**Authour's Note: Okay, so this bit isn't actually finished but I decided to post it and let you all know that I haven't actually given up on this fic. Life has just gotten so hectic as we're coming up to the end of the University year and I have four prjects, three essays and two exams to do. I am going to keep writing this but the chapters will have to be shorter and I will just post them when they are ready, instead of every Thursday. There will be at least one every week though. After the next couple of weeks, things should go back to normal (hopefully). I hope you keep up with this story and that it doens't get too boring for you. Thanks to all who review, I love reading them.**

**Part 9**

Mace Windu sat in silent contemplation in the Jedi Council Chambers. The Capital of the Republic spanned below him in all its glory but he did not see it; his eyes were focussed on some distant place that he couldn't quite see.

So much had happened within the last few days, so many Force disturbances that it was difficult for even Master Yoda to keep his focus.

His thoughts wandered to Kamino, to the disappearance – physical and in the Force – of the two young Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Despite his Jedi training, Mace was human and he felt guilty. He was supposed to be the Guardian of the Jedi and yet, in these dark times, he'd sent numerous 'keepers of the peace' into war zones. It wasn't right.

And because of his decisions they'd lost the supposed Chosen One. He'd never put much stock into Qui-Gon's claims that the boy was the one the prophecy spoke of – he was far too unpredictable – but the depth of the chasm that was left by his disappearance was sometimes overwhelming.

They'd sent Master Siri Tachi and her Padawan, Ferus Olin, to investigate Obi-Wan's disappearance from Kamino and what they had found had sent very human chills down Windu's spine: the planet had been destroyed – a relic of what it should have been. The orbs that were the cities sent dark plumes of smoke into the sky; the smouldering bodies of hundreds of Kaminoans still lying where they fell.

Siri had managed to tap into the encrypted computer system on one of the outer orbs that remained relatively untouched by the massacre and found that one unidentified ship had taken off from the planet with a course set for Geonosis. Despite discouragement from the council, the two were now on their way to the Separatist capital to investigate the seeming only survivor of the attack.

Windu sighed. It was not a good time for the Jedi: darkness shrouded everything and everyone.

"Troubled your thoughts are."

Windu hadn't even felt Yoda's arrival, so deep in his thoughts as he was. He turned to his friend and nodded in acknowledgement.

"We're entering into even darker times, I fear."

"Yes."

Silence descended in the council chambers as the two sought to centre themselves. Recently, conversation between the two had been increasingly difficult with both of them seeking to find solitude in the absence of the Force.

"Still a mystery the attempts on Senator Amidala's life are," Yoda stated a long while – perhaps hours – later. Mace Windu nodded in agreement. Yoda sighed grimly. "On Geonosis I feel the answer lies."

--

Siri Tachi didn't like Geonosis at all. She set her Jedi starfighter in a steam vent along with her Padawan Ferus Olin. She was scanning the planet with the sensors she had the mechanics back at the Temple install on her own personal starfighter. What she was seeing was something that she really rather wouldn't. Federation Spheres scattered the planet's surface while intense heat and Carbon emissions were seeping through the surface and into the humid atmosphere.

Her Padawan was sitting in his own cock-pit she could see reading through the Archive information that they had on Geonosis. She was glad Ferus was with her: he was a good swordsman and an even better strategist. At the same time, however, she was apprehensive: he'd never been in situations like he would undoubtedly experience on Geonosis. If she hadn't seen the look of utter despair on his face when hey spotted the first of many charred and smouldering bodies f the natives of Kamino, the shock and disgust that was swimming through the air would certainly have alerted her.

They had gone to where Obi-Wan's ship had been docked but found no signs of life in the nearby city orb. They had scoured for Obi-Wan's own astrodroid but he too was missing. Curiously, they had found no signs of the great army that Obi-Wan spoke of: any bodies or survivors. They had however found large barracks that looked like they had been deserted hastily – and recently. There had also been a few scraps of battle droids lying around showing that the Kaminoans had at least put up some fight.

She sighed and turned to her Astro-droid attached to the wing of her starfighter.

"Arthree open a communication to Coruscant."

The little droids beeped and whorled as she jumped out of her cockpit. She signalled for Ferus to stay put and stood in front of Arthree's lens.

"We have arrived on Geonosis Masters. As you said, the surface is filled with droids and ships. We've landed in a steam vent and Ferus and I are going to go in and investigate what it is that is underneath – it appears to be a factory. We will make contact shortly and let you know what we find. May the Force be with you."

She looked up and nodded to Arthree to end the transmission and send the message through. Hopefully they would find something that would lead them to the whereabouts of Obi-Wan and his Padawan.

-

Chancellor Palpatine was not a happy person. He'd sent scouts out to try and find the renegade Anakin Skywalker but not a single clue had been found as to his whereabouts. And if that hadn't been enough, the young man's master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, had disappeared as well. He had the feeling that there was something happening right beneath his nose but he just couldn't put his finger on it. After all, it had been separatist droids who had destroyed Kamino – but under whose order, he still didn't know. His first instinct was Darth Tyrranus but he was still on Geonosis, claiming to have no idea that squadrons of his army had been taken off and shipped to Kamino.

He growled low in his throat and tossed a few of the papers on his desk to the floor.

He wanted the Chosen One found and he wanted him found _right now_.

--

Heat caused droplets of sweat to permeate her skin as she crept down the humid tunnel. Her senses were on fire, raging for her to look out, to beware but she couldn't see anything in the darkness. Ferus was only a few steps behind her, his gentle footfalls a constant reminder of his safety. She could see a light further down and she assumed it was an exit of some kind. Her robes were becoming sticky. She hated this heat.

She reached her hand up to swipe at a rivulet of sweat that trickled down her temple and as she did, she heard something jump out in front of her. She ignited her lightsaber and slashed in front of her, feeling it cut through something. Lights came on and blinded her and she instinctively reached her hand up to guard her eyes while trying to evade the blaster shots that were coming from every angle. She felt Ferus back into her, created a three hundred and sixty degree safety net for the two of them. She could feel his surprise through the Force and also his determination not to let her down.

They slashed and cut for several minutes but the myriad of bug like creatures seemed to keep emerging from the walls as though the walls were made of the insects. She tried to move the two of them closer to the light at the end of the tunnel but it was too far away. They were surrounded. Ridiculously surrounded.

She heard metal clanging on metal as several battle droids marched towards them, arms thrust out towards them. She turned her head to Ferus and they shared a look. This was not good. The insects stopped firing and, now that she had stopped too, she could feel her raging heart beat, feel her robes sticking to her sweaty body, her hair matted to her face.

"Drop your weapons!"

She felt Ferus turn to look at her in silent communication. She nodded and they deactivated their lightsabers, dropping them with a clang to the metal ground.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Siri muttered to no one in particular.

--

She twirled and turned in a deadly dance, evading her imaginary foe. She could feel her muscles strain as she Force jumped off the wall, kicking the air as she went. Her blades swishing around like a beautifully dangerous light show.

She loved fighting with the two blades. It felt more dangerous and yet flowed with more grace than just the one. Even when she had been younger, she always preferred to have two dance poles in her hands than just the one. She knew she moved well, her agility hard to rival. Her Master had told her many times that no one could beat her once she was fully trained. She would be able to control the Force and no one would be able to beat her. She had believed him, until only a few hours ago. She'd felt the power swimming around Skywalker, talking to her even when his Force sensitivities were dulled. Although, she had to think positively. It was she who was oppressing such a strong Force signature – she had to be strong in order to do that.

She threw her saber and it pierced through the ancient punch bag hanging in the middle of her training room. She stopped and stared at the hilt as it stuck out form the thick leather. She could feel her heart thundering in her chest, her breathing laboured. She'd been training for well over two hours now. Her hands shook when she looked at them and sweat slicked between the metal weaving around her arms. She hated that feeling. It made her want to rip the stupid thing off. But she didn't, she knew that she couldn't.

She deactivated the lightsabers with the Force and the hilt fell to the ground while she clipped the other onto her belt. She'd have to clean up before she went to the prisoner. She felt bad for cutting his arm off; she wouldn't have someone to spar with now but if he hadn't have been so stupid it would never have happened. She shook her head.

The Chosen One indeed.

--


	10. Part 9

Author's Note: I'm going to have to up the rating soon. In this **there is a little Anakin nakedness** and a wee bit of… two **naked bodies**. _**But no sex**_, nothing like that. It's in italics at Padmé's bit but it's nothing really. I'm just warning you in case you are easily offended. 

**Part 9**

He had to give it to her. She'd caught him entirely unawares and now he only had one arm and a stump left after his own stupidity. He should have seen it coming, really, he should have: he had seen her eying up his arms. It had seemed like an unexpected move – he'd blocked her shot and they were straining against one another's force and then she had jumped back and simply sliced through his arm. He hadn't realised what had happened at first, he'd even raised his hand to strike back at her but nothing happened. And then he saw it. His arm, still wielding the now lifeless lightsaber, laying on the ground. All he remembered after that was the apparent lack of blood on the floor.

Next thing he knew, he was awake in his cell again. He couldn't tell how long he'd been here, it could have been hours, or it could have been days. How long did someone normally stay unconscious after losing a limb? He had retched and vomited the bile in his stomach and his captor had been _kind _enough to leave him tied up in a sitting position so that when he did eventually waken and vomit around himself, he wouldn't suffocate. He grunted out a laugh at that; no, instead he'd vomit all down his front. He shook his head, trying to ward off the negative feelings of humiliation and hatred. But damn, it was hard. He couldn't help but hate her. He wanted Obi-Wan.

_No, _he wanted Padmé.

He wondered if she was okay, if anything had happened to her. If this malicious, evil _bitch _had taken his beautiful Padmé as well. _His _Padmé? She certainly was not his, but oh how he wanted her to be. It was thoughts of her that kept him at least half sane in here, thoughts that he would see her when the Jedi eventually came for him that stopped him impaling himself on her black blade.

The door to his prison opened, letting in a sharp ray of light directly onto Anakin's over sensitive eyes. He saw her silhouette in the doorway and he wanted to scream. He hated this woman. She had ruined him. He tried not to look down at the scabbed stump that was now his right arm. His lightsaber arm. He felt his stomach churn once more. What kind of Jedi would he be without an arm?

Who was he kidding? What kind of Jedi was he with _two _arms? Windu would be happy, with the perfect excuse to kick him out of the Order. And Yoda, too. Though the little dwarf seemed to accept him _now, _wasn't he the first one to refuse Anakin? And who would completely disregard a little _boy_ right in front of him? He'll admit it, it had hurt to be rejected by the revered Master Yoda. He wanted to spit the name. Palpatine was right. The Jedi didn't respect his power.

_Ha_, he laughed internally. _What power_? He'd just had his arm chopped off by a _woman. _

"Anakin?"

He jerked his head up to look at her black eyes. She'd never called him simply 'Anakin'. It had always been Skywalker, or some form of derogatory nickname. He hated to admit it, but he liked the way his name sounded on her lips. She had an accent he couldn't place and she was difficult to understand sometimes because she spoke too quickly but he liked it. It was exotic and he had never heard anything like it before. He wondered, suddenly, what planet she was from.

He wanted to speak back to her but his stubbornness wouldn't allow it.

He could hear her sigh as the lights of the room came on and he squinted. She always knew how to have him at a disadvantage.

"I brought something for you to eat."

He was surprised at that. Normally he found a glass of murky water lying at the side of him that he was told held all the nutrients he would need and she would force him to drink it. He wondered if the food was poisoned.

He felt the shackle that was holding his single arm above his head come loose and it dropped like a dead stone to the floor. It didn't even hurt because it was so numb. He eyed her wearily once his vision returned and he had to fight against the urge to rub his left wrist with his right hand. He eyed her outfit – she wasn't wearing the customary black synthetic leather material she normally did. Instead she was wearing a simple grey dress that barely skimmed her thighs and black knee length trousers. Her hair was flat, a loose fringe sweeping across her forehead; her hair was longer than he thought it was and now that he saw how long it was, he wondered how she got it to stand on end. Maybe she just woke up and it was like that? He didn't know but he liked this side of her. She seemed so much more… normal. His eyes sought out the metal around her arms and he wondered again just what it was. Was it decoration? Or did it hold some sort of power?

"Where's Granta?" He asked her, his voice hoarse from not having been used for so long and burned by the acidy bile.

Her eyes stared into his and he thought he saw guilt fleet across her features but she looked down to the tray of food before he could be sure.

"He's not here," she said coldly and he wondered idly if she'd killed him. He wanted to chuckle but he didn't. He watched as he sat down beside him and leaned back against the cold wall, crossing her legs as she did so. "You should eat some of this," she said and motioned towards the food. He eyed it and the simple offering of bread and some fruit was mouth-wateringly tempting. "There's nothing wrong with it. There's no use in killing you now is there?" She chuckled softly and he eyed her again before reaching out and picking up the piece of bread from the tray. He noticed there was some sort of jam on it and he took a tentative bite. It wasn't half bad. He finished the bread and started on the fruit. It was a little bitter for his tastes but he wasn't going to say no. He was starving. "Would you like a shower?" She asked and he saw her looking at his chest that was covered in his dried in sick. He nodded slowly.

Why was she being so nice to him now?

He saw her pass her hand in the general direction of a control on the other side of the room and the next thing he knew he was in a shower room somewhere. She walked to the unit and pressed a few buttons and then two jet streams started behind the frosted glass door and he watched as she turned back to him with a confused expression on her face, as though even she didn't understand what was happening.

He didn't need to strip off, he was already naked and so he walked to the door, passing by her, making sure he didn't touch her; the last time he did, he'd felt like his heart would give way from the sheer surge of electricity that passed through him at her touch. He reached out to the door and then stumbled, realising once again that he had no right hand. He tried not to let her see his reaction.

The hot water that glided over him was a welcome escape. He felt the clumps of vomit slide off his body and he pushed them away with his left hand. A harder jet pushed into the small of his back and he could feel the muscles automatically loosen. He leaned his head against the tiled wall and let the water soak into his skin for several minutes. His thoughts wandered but he tried to control them, knowing that she could feel his emotions. Obi-Wan had once told him that Anakin's presence in the Force was so over-whelming normally, never mind when he was feeling emotional. It was a colourful wave that had often woken Obi-Wan at night when Anakin was thinking about his mother, or Padmé or Qui-Gon… or anything that he'd lost.

He opened his eyes, refusing to admit that the rivulets of water running down his face could well be tears. He searched for some soap and found a liquid tube hanging at the other side of the cubicle. He leaned over and picked it up, and tried to balance it between his arm and body while squeezing some onto his hand. After his fifth failed attempt he swore and dropped it once again. He leaned down to pick it up and what he saw there shocked him so much he stumbled back and almost hit his head on the wall.

_She _was standing in the cubicle.

And she was naked.

Anakin automatically closed his eyes and turned away. What in the galaxy did she think she was doing? Wasn't it bad enough that she left him naked, had chopped his arm off and now she was coming into the shower with him? Oh Gods, oh Gods…

"Don't worry, I'm just going to help you," she murmured and he felt her pry the bottle of soap from his hand.

"Why?" He asked forcefully and spun around, using his good arm to ring her throat and push her against the wall. He wanted to squeeze her throat until she couldn't breathe. He saw her face change, becoming a stone mask and he wondered how she would retaliate. But it never came.

"I have to."

He let go of her and looked at her. She had seemed so vulnerable and scared as she stared at him with those eyes; it had taken his breath away.

What in the name of the Sith was going on here?

--

Padmé sprang up in bed, her heart racing.

Obi-Wan was missing.

Anakin was missing.

Siri Tachi was missing.

So was her Padawan.

She tried to control her breathing but she couldn't. She was no Force sensitive being but she felt that something else was going on here. Something was happening within the Jedi Order that she was sure even the Jedi Order were scared of. She had seen the glances that the old Masters shared with one another across the communication room when Siri's message had come in.

But it was none of this that had woken her from her rested sleep.

It had to have been a dream but... it seemed so real. She sat up and set her feet on the cool floor. Her heart was thundering in her chest, aching slightly. It was ridiculous but she could feel tears burn at the back of her eyes. She closed her eyes and licked her lips, replaying the images in her mind.

_His lips descended harshly onto hers, devouring, biting, **torturing**. His hand grasped her head, pushing her into a wet, tiled wall but pulling her to him at the same time. His wet, naked body was pressed against hers, pushing them into the wall. _

Padmé was even enjoying the dream, until they were leaving the shower and she caught sight of the reflection in the mirror.

_Anakin pushed her against the wall outside the shower and she glanced over his shoulder to the steamed up mirror. Somehow, the mirror wiped clean revealing cold black eyes staring back at her, framed with dripping wet white hair. The smirk was malicious, evil and Padmé knew then that it was definitely not her._

She wanted to believe that it was just a dream. But something in the back of her mind was nagging at her. Why would she dream of _someone else _with Anakin? Goodness, it hurt more than she wanted it to.

She moved to the 'fresher and splashed water onto her face and looked at her own reflection in the mirror. She stared into her eyes and jumped back when she saw another image, unbidden and unwanted.

_A rugged hand, undoubtedly Anakin's, trailed down a pale, toned body, framing a face as sickening as it was unfamiliar. _

She was simply remembering part of her dream. She had to be. She sighed and let out a breath of air that was stuck between a laugh and a sob. Why was her mind torturing her like this?

She quickly changed into a pair of slack trousers and a tunic that the Jedi had mustered up for her. Even though she wasn't allowed to leave the temple, she was allowed to wander the halls and some rooms unattended but she had to have an escort if she was coming to the quarters or the Council chambers. But she wasn't going to either of those places. No. She wanted to relax and quiet her mind before she tried to get back to sleep.

She walked down the halls, twisting around the temple and descending staircases that she was so sure a few days ago that she would never remember and came to the room at the centre of the underground facility in the Temple: the room of a thousand fountains. Yoda had brought her down here only a few days before, after Obi-Wan had left and taught her how to meditate to calm herself down. He had told her that her turbulent emotions were upsetting some of the younglings and she had to learn to control herself. She had taken it all in her stride and though she found it difficult to close her mind completely, she had mastered it – or at least enough to find some inner calm.

She didn't understand why Anakin hated it so much.

She searched for a quiet spot and found one under a tree native to her home world, Naboo, and she relaxed against its thick trunk. She didn't even feel the bark through the material of her skin.

There was a few rivers nearby that led to a small waterfall and she let the moving water freshen her mind and ease her tension. She'd always loved the water. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes and instantly wished she hadn't.

"_Anakin! Oh Gods, Anakin! Obi-Wan help! Help me!" She knew it was futile, Obi-Wan was too far away to hear her or be able to reach her in time to help Anakin. She knew she should jump in and try to help him herself but there was something, some invisible force holding her in place._

She groaned out loud and opened her eyes, stretching the muscles in her neck and shoulders. She wouldn't let her own feelings of guilt and shame affect the Younglings in the temple. She closed her eyes and tried again.

As time passed, images swirled together until they were just a blend of different colours and she felt tranquillity seep through her veins. Her body was becoming heavy and she knew her head would be bobbing on her shoulders but she didn't care about how she looked right then.

"Miss Padmé," a voice interrupted her and Padmé had to bite back the groan at having been interrupted.

She looked up at her escort, a young force sensitive man – she said young but he was probably the same age as her – who had never been chosen as a Padawan. When he had told her his story, Padmé's heart had gone out to him but he didn't seem phased. He liked his job in the Temple anyway. He was an aide in the healers ward, often telling stories to the younglings or young Padawans who were sick or – something that was happening more and more – injured. He had a soothing presence that even Padmé could sense and she knew that the healing environment was the place he should be.

He was attractive too. Not like Anakin's ruggedness, no. This man – Talin – was more boyish, with his cherub like face that made him look years younger than he was and his dark chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes made sure he turned a few heads out in the world.

"Hello Talin," she smiled up at him and motioned to her side to let him know that he could sit down. He nodded and did as he was told. She smiled at that.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, staring around the room, noticing the Masters and Padawans sitting cross-legged together, obviously in meditation.

"I went to your room but you weren't there. I hope you don't mind, but I… I used the Force to find you," he said timidly and Padmé smiled at him. She knew he wasn't shy at all, if anything he was very mature and out-going and she wondered why he was suddenly so shy.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked suddenly, alarmed.

"No! Not at all, no. Master Yoda contacted me and told me he sensed you in some distress and asked if I would come to you and ensure you were okay. He would have come himself but he important business to attend to, you see."

Padmé nodded. It was only natural that the members of the Council would be overly occupied, what with the disappearance of four of their own in the span of a week.

"I had an unpleasant dream that's all. I'm fine," she assured him and leaned against the tree once again, finding comfort in its strength.

Her dream replayed in her mind once again and she tried to file it away and analyse it at a later time. She could feel his eyes on her as though he was searching for something. For some hint of lie in her face. She turned to him and smiled softly, hoping to eradicate any doubt from his mind. He must have sensed that she didn't want to talk about it because she saw him nod and turn away again.

"Very well." They sat in silence for a few minutes once more and Padmé wondered if he was going to stay and talk, or if he was going to leave. She didn't mind either way, after all, she rather enjoyed his presence. "If you don't mind, I'd like to stay and meditate with you."

Padmé thought about it. She found it difficult to meditate when others were around but his calm demeanour had already affected her.

"Of course, you are more than welcome."

He smiled at her and Padmé smiled back, before looking away and closing her eyes.

Something definitely wasn't right.


	11. Part 10

Jedi Master Yoda toddled through the corridors, his mind not thinking about his destination. He'd walked this route for hundreds of years and his mind knew it better than anything else in the galaxy. The Council chambers was his favourite room – except, perhaps, the room of a thousand fountains – with its marvellous views of the city rolling in waves beneath it. He remembered being a Padawan – so many centuries ago, now – and finding the room to be the epitome of achievement. He remembered thinking that he wanted to be on the Council, to be as respected as some of the Masters already sitting on it. He'd known then, as he does now, that those thoughts were entirely unbecoming for a Jedi but he knew that it was so. He _was _going to be on the Jedi Council, not through arrogance but because he had _seen _it.

He remembered the conversation he'd had with his Master about the things he had seen in his dreams, about the people and places and he remembered how his Master had simply smiled as he lay a hand on his shoulder replying with,

"Yoda, you're more powerful than we know."

He'd smiled modestly – and somewhat bashfully – at the compliment. But he knew that it was true. By the time he was one hundred, he'd been greatly efficient in all of the lightsaber forms and decided that he liked Form IV the best. He loved the name – _Ataru_ –, he had loved how it sounded in his Masters voice. It was a form that he knew he would still be able to actually _do_ when he reached his current age.

His mind wandered to another powerful young Jedi who was very gifted in all ways of the Force and he mentally shook his head ruefully, his physical step faltering slightly. Had young Skywalker been born within the Republic, he would have been noticed as a baby and brought to the Temple to be properly trained. However, as fate – or, perhaps the _Force _– would have it, the boy was not. He had come to the Temple already in double figures. It was unheard of. As soon as his eyes set upon the boys, he saw them not as the blue they were but as a Sith-ly yellow. But the child had grown and had become very accomplished in the few years he had been in the Temple, surpassing all of the Padawans of his age, and even older. Was this perhaps evidence that he was indeed the Chosen One?

Yoda had always sensed that it would be a woman.

And Anakin Skywalker was definitely not one of those.

He reached the Council chambers just as Ki-Adi Mundi did and they bowed respectfully towards one another, before exchanging pleasantries. Yoda's only _friend _within the Council was Master Mace Windu. That wasn't to say, however, that he did not _get along _with the others, but he simply had no time to stop and chat. The two of them were too alike sometimes and after Yoda had confided in Windu about why he didn't want Anakin to join the Order, Windu had suddenly become very suspicious of Anakin.

In Mace's eyes, the boy was too powerful and too unpredictable.

But to Yoda, he only saw what he himself could have been. He had tried to take Skywalker under his wing, knowing how confused he would be about certain things that were happening to him, things that only Yoda had experienced. Yoda only hoped that that would stand him in good stead for the turbulent future that lay ahead for the entire galaxy.

He closed his eyes and tried to seek out Skywalker's Force signature once again. He reached deep into the Force. He could see a faint white light from somewhere and he did not recognise the signature. He concentrated on it, could feel it pulling him in. He reached out to it and it turned black and wrapped around him. He tried to fight it off but it was so strong. Stronger than anything he had ever felt.

There was a sharp pain in his head before he lost all sense of direction and his tiny world went blank.

--

Siri Tachi sighed. She'd been hung up on an electrical prison, hovering above the ground, her wrists and feet bound by electrical energy for far too long. Her wrists were starting to cramp and she couldn't even move them to try and urge her blood to keep circulating. She knew that Ferus was fine, she could sense him through the Force but there was another signature, one that she knew she should be able to recognise but for the life of her she just could not

She'd searched for Obi-Wan but she couldn't find his signature anywhere. Not even distantly. She was so sure she would have found him on Geonosis but that seemed highly unlikely now. Her mind floated once again and she thought of the ship that had taken off from Kamino: had it only been a rouse to keep any prying eyes from finding out where it really went, where it had really taken Obi-Wan? It had been too many months since she had last spoken with Obi-Wan properly. They had struck up a deep friendship after their failed attempt at romance and she was glad. Her life as a Jedi had forced her to stop her evolving emotions for Obi-Wan. But it was too late. She knew what she could have had and it didn't help at all knowing that the Jedi were the ones holding her back. She knew that it was for the best interests of the Order but sometimes she wondered if the Order would stay as archaic as it was.

Couldn't they see that it the strict rules and regulations that had to be followed that forced people to the Dark Side?

She could hear footsteps moving closer to her prison and she closed her eyes, attempting to lull herself into meditation but she couldn't. There was a tremor in the Force and it was disrupting her concentration. She opened her eyes when she heard the door open and she gasped audibly at the person who walked in.

"Count Dooku," she murmured as he came to a halt in front of her.

"Siri Tachi, I am surprised to find you here." And he did look genuinely surprised, she noticed. "I thought you and your Padawan were stationed on Coruscant?" She frowned at him but refused to say anything. "Saying nothing will not help you get your _friend _back," he leered and Siri shook her head.

"Traitor!"

She watched him shake his head.

"They have gone too far. He's gone mad!"

Siri wondered what he was talking about. She would never ask but she wondered. Who had gone mad? Was this all just a show? She hoped it was.

"I thought you were the leader here, Count?" She asked instead and felt a tingling sensation at the back of her mind. Was Dooku trying to invade her mind? She slammed up a mental barrier and glared at him but he too looked just as confused as she did.

"No," he said eventually, his deep voice bounding off the walls around the room. While he had been a Knight in the Temple, Siri had always thought he looked very regal with his straight as a beam posture, his slick white hair and strange black eyebrows. He'd had an air about him that spoke of arrogance and determination and she wondered how the council could not have known he would betray them. "What would you say if I told you that the Senate was under the control of a Sith Lord?"

She let out a cynical laugh at that.

"I'd say you were a liar," she spat back and glared at him once more.

"Because your Master Yoda can't sense it?" He chuckled and shook his head. "My dear girl, Master Yoda is just as much under his control as the rest of the galaxy."

She laughed but inside her mind was reeling. He had to be lying! The council would _know _if a Sith Lord was in control of the Senate, surely. The dark side hadn't clouded their judgement that much, had it? Or perhaps it had and the Jedi were not even aware of it. But why was Dooku telling her this? Was he helping his old Order out or did he not care because he was going to kill her anyway?

"Where's Obi-Wan?"

Dooku looked up at her and frowned confusedly at the sudden change in coversation before shaking his head.

"He's not here."

She rolled her eyes and glared down at him again.

"Really? I didn't notice that," she retorted with acid in her voice. "Now tell me where he is!"

Dooku laughed loudly at that.

"Or you will do what? You are in no position to be making demands, my dear."

"What about the boy? Do you have him as well?"

He chuckled once more and Siri wanted nothing more in that moment than to take her lightsaber and stick it in his neck. She started at her own thoughts. _What? _

"Ah, you're precious Chosen One," he smirked and she closed her eyes, trying to quell the untameable anger inside of her. "Well, as much as we would like to take credit for his disappearance, we can't unfortunately."

Siri sighed. She knew he was telling the truth. Anakin Skywalker had simply disappeared and had left a big gaping hole in the Force. She had felt it only partly, she was sure and she wondered how Obi-Wan had managed to cope with that emptiness that his disappearance caused. And then Obi-Wan's disappearance and had left a gap (though not as big as Anakin's but still just as frightening) and she had wondered again how anyone could live with that emptiness all their lives. It was ridiculous to think that a Master _and _a Padawan would simply disappear and no one would know where they were. She shook her head and concentrated on the Force around her, hoping to sense something that would help her get out of her restraints.

She heard a deep suction of air and she didn't know whether it came from her or from Dooku but she knew she would have stumbled and fallen to her knees like Dooku had if she hadn't been tied up. She searched frantically through her mind, through the Force but there was nothing, no sign of him and… and she couldn't breathe. She felt tears well in her eyes unbidden and she gasped for breath. _No. _

_**No!** _

She opened her eyes and saw Dooku looking up at her through her teary vision and she knew in that instance that her thoughts, what she knew and felt was correct.

The Force was weeping for his its greatest child.

Master Yoda was gone.


	12. Part 11

She tried to block out the ripples of darkness that penetrated her mind as she drew closer and closer to her Master's room. It wasn't his quarters – this ship wasn't his to have quarters on – but the room that he liked the best because he was a freak. She respected her Master – maybe she even loved him in a weird, twisted sick kind of way that people love those who rescue them – but that didn't mean she had to like him. He was a sadist and he hated her the most out of all of his projects. He told her so on more than one occasion that she was his greatest expectation and also his biggest failure. She didn't quite understand it, she had only ever done what he had told her to do, never questioning, always obeying.

She had the feeling that this visit wasn't going to be like the last one. She could feel the waves of displeasure emanating from him, even from her distance. She could see flashes of red energy swirling in the air, captivating her, luring her in. She could feel the darkness inside of her swell and reach out to the red anger but her lighter side – her human side – quelled the fire quickly. She could feel the metal scorch and freeze her skin as it twisted around her arms and she hissed and stumbled slightly.

Her Master would be displeased with her reaction: hadn't he taught her that pain made her stronger?

As she got closer still she could hear his quiet murmurings over the top of a type of music she neither understood nor appreciated. She could tell he was talking to someone, tormenting someone and she wondered idly who his new pet was. Her fingers flexed of their own accord as the darkness surged through her momentarily. She didn't try to rein it in, just knew that it would happen.

It was the only thing she could truly thank her Master for.

All too soon she was before his door and it swished open before she could command it to. She snorted lightly. He _was _expecting her after all. She tugged her hood over her once again spiked hair and took slow menacing steps into the dark room, her black cloak swinging around her legs.

"Ah, here she is."

She didn't look up but kept her eyes trained on the pool of red in the centre of the room. He'd had her fill it with the blood of those she had killed and the room smelled disgusting. The most disturbing of all though, was the fact that the pool gurgled and splurged because the blood had to be kept moving so it wouldn't settle. She never came anywhere near this room except when he was there. She hated it.

She heard a groan from the corner and she let herself feel the Force signature wash over her. He was strong in the Force, probably a Jedi. She wanted to chuckle but she didn't. Her Master hated the Jedi and she had no idea why. He'd never fed her elaborate stories of their betrayal, he just told her he hated them and what they stood for and so should she. The strong Force signature fluttered towards her slightly, as though searching through her feelings but she was too strong, too practised for that to happen. She shut herself off from the living Force and concentrated on keeping her breathing normal. The room was abnormally cold and she felt her bare arms goose-pimple and she wished suddenly for the warmth of her bed, of…

No.

She wouldn't think about that.

Not now. Not ever.

There was a brush at the back of her mind and she looked up into her Master's eyes and shivered. He wasn't a Sith and so didn't have the Sith-ly yellow eyes but they were just as eerily frightening. Cold, and lifeless the white orbs stared into her soul and she could see him searching her memories for the things that she had done to her prisoner.

"I told you to break him, _sanyara_." She didn't flinch at the insult. He huffed and raised his hand, using the Force to drag the probable Jedi towards them. She looked down at his torn tan and brown robes, his shaggy auburn hair trying not to feel compassion for the numerous cuts and bruises on his face and his mind. She looked away from him as his eyes began to open. "We have a guest with us." Her Master murmured as he stood up and moved closer to her. She fought the urge to take a step back. "I thought you could use him… to help with your release." She swallowed down the rising bile in her stomach and continued to stare at the glowing white eyes. "You've been controlled for too long…" he trailed his finger over the fastening to her cloak and unclipped it with his fingers, letting it fall to the floor. She kept her head held high as his eyes raked over her body, his lips quirking up at the edges in a gloating sneer. "Come here, child," he commanded as he stepped away from her.

She didn't want to move towards him. She knew what he was going to do but she knew that when it came to him she couldn't say no.

She shuddered, could feel the darkness laughing within her, pulling at her even before it was released. _Please,_ she pleaded with herself, urging the lighter side to take control this time.

"_The dark is generous, and it is patient and it always wins."_

She felt her restraints fall to the ground with a clatter and she snapped her eyes shut as a blinding white light pierced her eyes, burning her mind. She could hear them, hear the voices in her mind all of them. All the pain, the suffering, the screams, the torture… She slammed her barriers up knowing it would do nothing. Seconds it was, and she was plunged into the Force, so deep that she could feel ever sword slice and every broken blade of grass on all the planets in the last… Gods, she didn't know how long. It was excruciatingly painful. Tears rose unbidden in her eyes. Blood pounded through her veins. She could feel it pulsing through her body, her arms, her fingers begging for release. She could feel the battle, the darkness, the light crushing each others' attempts to gain control. She backed herself up against the wall, trying to pull herself physically away from the _guest. _She didn't' want to release onto him. No one else deserved this pain. It would kill them. She screamed as a thousand needles pierced into her brain, a million cries echoed in her head. Darkness reigned, reached out to touch the mind of the likely-Jedi but the light clambered on top of it, dragging it in. She couldn't breathe. She thrashed against the wall, her battle mental and physical.

And then she could feel it. Something… no, some_one _trying to tap into her mind from afar, probing at her.

_No! _She screamed in her head, pushing the prying mind from hers. But it was no use. The darkness had caught onto the bright, all-encompassing light of this strange, unbelievably powerful individual and before she could drag it back in it sucked its life, smothering it in darkness.

She felt the vacuum in the Force and she fell to her knees, releasing the bloody tears from her eyes onto the floor.

It was too much, her mind yelled at her. She had to release and she had to release _now _or she wouldn't make it.

_NO!_

She pulled the dark thoughts in, tried to extinguish them.

_Yes… he's there, use him, use him…!_

She didn't even have to think about it and as she touched into her guests mind, before she unleashed her pain into him she apologised.

Then her world went black and she felt a blissful release of emptiness.

--

Obi-Wan Kenobi had never been in such pain in his entire life. As he slowly came back to awareness, he wished for the black of unconscious once again. Despite the excruciating pain in his mind, that he knew should have killed him, he was aching – every inch of him was battered as though he had been ran over numerous times with a herd of wild bantha. As he blinked back to reality, he tuned into a high-pitched ringing and he winced at the pain it caused in his ears. He opened his mouth and felt his fat, dry tongue stick to the roof of his mouth. His lips cracked under the movement and he felt flakes fall onto his naked thighs. He looked down and saw flakes of dried blood lying there. He tried to reach up to his face to find the source but he couldn't. He turned to the side and through his blurry vision he saw that his arms were held, crucifix style, against a concrete mass, his wrists attached to it by metal cuffs. His feet were bound to the floor so that his knees were in line with his chin. It was an entirely uncomfortable position, being unable to move his cramped legs from their tucked up position.

He rested his head against the concrete mass behind him and concentrated on the room around him. It was simple and dull, like any prison cell. The walls were grey metal. He seemed to be positioned in the middle of the room but he couldn't be sure. He tried to link into the Force but his mind protested at being used too much, too soon.

He tried to think back to what he last remembered.

Being on Kamino, being captured by those stupid droids – that shouldn't have happened, he was better than that -, being taken aboard some ship and then… waking up in a cell similar to this with a white eyed… devil standing above him with a metal rod that he used to prod Obi-Wan with electricity. Everything else was a blurry mess and his mind froze and refused to allow him to process any further.

He closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off, finally, into a peaceful sleep. He was lulled into a deep calm when there was a loud hum and then the room was filled with white light. He scrunched his eyes shut but it was no use. He let out an agonised groan as his brain was set on fire. Tears stung at the back of his eyes but he tried to force them open against their will. It took a few minutes but they adjusted and he concentrated on the figure who was standing before him at the doorway, leaning casually against the frame.

She was dressed in black, her hair white and standing on end and if she wasn't resonating pure evil thoughts towards him – he realised, redundantly, that the Force had returned to him, if even just slightly -, he would say she was rather… astonishingly attractive. His eyes settled on her black orbs, such a startling contrast to his last captor. Her face didn't register any emotion, her eyes empty.

The screeching had stopped but his ears still rung.

He could hear shuffling behind him and he tried to turn his head towards the sound but he couldn't. He was captivated by the woman's eyes.

Eventually she looked over his head, as though looking through the concrete block he was cuffed to and he saw her features thaw, only marginally. He wondered who, or more accurately _what_, was on the other side. He searched through the Force but there was nothing at all.

He frowned.

When his eyes turned back to where his captor had been, she was no longer there but was moving past him, around the other side of the block. He could hear muffled groaning and he closed his eyes.

_A hand touches a face that is all too familiar to him. Blue eyes open wearily and stare up from where their owner is slumped against a wall, chained to it across his midriff. _

"Hey." Obi-Wan starts at the sound of the voice, so velvety and smooth and he cannot believe it came from her. He hears a rattling of chains and then another groan as he imagines the person on the other side slumping forward.

He doesn't dwell too much on his vision. He's had many since he'd been captured.

There's shuffling from behind him and he wished that he could see what was happening, who was there. He feels a hand touch his head, as he feels fingers brush at his mind, suggesting that he sleep. He tries to fight it but he can't. His eyes droop but he fights until he sees two figures leaving the room, one taller and obviously not female, although the figure is slumped over the woman and the sleeve of his right arm dangles strangely.

But Obi-Wan can't think about it for too long because a fitful sleep consumed him.

Darkness had never been so welcoming.


	13. Part 12

**A/N: I can only apologise for how long it has been since I updated. Life has just been entirely too hectic. Courseword and studying for exams has obviously had to take prority. But here's the next part. Just a warning though, there is some reference to Anakin's... manly parts in this here chapter.**

_Part 12_

Padmé didn't do what to do.

The whole Temple was in uproar, Jedi scuttling from side to side and running through hallways calling for this or that person. She felt useless. She was absolutely not Force sensitive but she could feel a desperation, a despair swimming around her and all those in the building. She wanted to cry but she knew she couldn't. The Jedi didn't need her tears right now.

She had been with Talin in the archive room when he had suddenly tumbled to the floor and tried to suck in a breath of air. Padmé had called for help but no one had come. She'd looked up at noticed that all the other Jedi were in some form of pain, some even had tears streaming down their faces. She had felt a cold chill run through her body and she turned towards where she thought the council chambers were and frowned. She had begun to shake and she felt all the blood in her body pool at her feet as Talin began to choke on his tears.

Then he'd stood up suddenly and ran faster than Padmé had ever seen out of the archives. She had tried to follow him but he was gone. But what she saw when she left the library was something she had never expected to see in the Jedi Temple. The main corridor was full of people, some crying, shouting and all running in different directions. The younglings were scattered across the vast floor and they were screaming in pain, while the older Padawans and the Knights were trying to calm them down, while others were talking animatedly to each other, trying to reach some destination.

"What's happened?" She asked a passing Knight, who simply looked at her for a few seconds before blinking and shaking her head.

"Master Yoda… he's gone."

Padmé had felt the world tilt on its axis but she regained herself before she collapsed. She turned to ask the Knight what she had meant by 'gone' but the Knight was gone, disappearing into the crowd.

And that's where she was now: trying to fight her way through the crowd towards the stairs, or an elevator to get up to the healer ward. It was no easy task. She eventually made it to the stairs and she sprinted up them with a stamina she had forgotten she had. She ran down maze-like corridors, unsure if she was going in the right direction but following the frantic cries of a voice she recognised as her guide.

She couldn't make out what the voice was saying. It seemed jumbled up and hard to hear over the sound of the blood pounding in her ears. She stopped as she saw a life-pod hovering above the ground, floating slowly towards the entrance to the healers ward. As she drew closer she could make out the distressed look on Talin's face. She took a step closer again and wished she hadn't. The sight of the greatest Jedi lying unmoving and lifeless on his own tiny life-pod was enough to bring the harsh sting of tears to her eyes.

She couldn't hear a beep of any kind coming from the machine – she didn't even know if she should hear anything – but lights were flashing on it constantly, blazing red and burning her eyes as she continued to stare at them. She looked towards Talin, feeling his gaze upon her. She met his eyes and she crumpled to the floor. She knew that look. She'd seen that look on too many faces.

Could Yoda really be gone?

It seemed impossible. And yet, the evidence was right in front of her.

She felt his hands burn into her suddenly sensitive skin and she pulled away from him, looking down to where her arms still singed from his touch. She noticed that two angry red burn marks were appearing. Her eyed widened and she looked up to Talin who looked as shocked as her.

"Healer Talin, what should we do?" One of the older Padawans asked.

Padmé looked towards the young man and saw tears running down his face. She could feel Talin's eyes burning into her. She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want him to see the burning tears in her eyes.

"Tobin," Talin said in an even voice. "Take Tarsha and go help Barriss with Master Windu."

Padmé felt light headed once more. She wanted to be sick. Her stomach rolled inside of her and she clutched her head trying to keep her bearings.

"What happened to Master Windu?" She tried not to sound too frantic but the looks she received from the Jedi still left in the room told her that she had failed.

"From what we can gather," Master Mundi – who Padmé hadn't noticed standing next to Yoda's pod – spoke, "he sensed Yoda's distress and tried to pull him out." Padmé tried not to look perplexed. "Master's Yoda and Windu were one another's anchors," Mundi continued but faltered off as his eyes dropped down to the limp form of Yoda. "If Master Windu hadn't reacted as quickly as he had, Master Yoda would most definitely be dead."

Padmé looked up, startled at that and she looked between Talin and Mundi and Yoda. So he _was _still alive? If he was alive, what was all the commotion about? Why was Windu in the healer's ward? Padmé didn't understand.

"He's _alive? _Why is everyone…? Why is everyone so distressed?"

She knew she sounded pathetic but she really didn't understand. Her hand wandered of its own accord to the life-pod and she wanted to touch Yoda's still frame but she knew she couldn't.

She noticed the look that Talin, Mundi and the other Jedi shared and she wondered if they were silently laughing at her naivety. She knew they weren't but sometimes…

"For all intents and purposes… he's dead. He should be. The only thing keeping him alive is this pod. He's disappeared from the Force… something… something caught his mind, yanked it out of him. Windu isn't much better off. The only difference is, he's human. We can treat him. Master Yoda… we do not know enough about his species' genealogy… we are not even really sure what his species is. This life-pod is something we made up a few years ago based on the minerals in his gimmer stick." Padmé frowned. She'd heard that his stick could be chewed and would release vital nutrients for him but she had never believed it. Padmé lowered her eyes once again to Yoda's lifeless body and felt a weight in her chest that she couldn't quite explain. "Master Windu should be fine, however."

Padmé nodded and licked her lips, her eyes watering once again. She closed them in hopes of stopping the flow.

_Ragged breaths echoed throughout the room, as she felt his weight pressing her into the soft mattress beneath her. She bit into his shoulder, leaving marks there. He was so powerful: more powerful than she had expected._

_She felt his fingers in her hair. Her short, white hair that was sticking to her sweaty forehead. _

Padmé jerked slightly and jarred her knee into the life-pod. Her heart rate had suddenly doubled at the image in her mind and she wondered again just what exactly it was. She knew that the man was Anakin, his beautiful face was so prominent in her mind but she didn't know who the woman was. Who _she _was supposed to be. Maybe it was just her subconscious mind telling her to let Anakin go.

But it felt too real to be only a dream.

"Padmé, are you okay?"

Padmé looked up to Talin and nodded at his concerned expression. She marvelled at the fact he could be concerned for her when Master Yoda and Master Windu were in such critical conditions.

"I'm fine," she assured him and they stared at one another for a few moments, Talin not believing her words and searching her eyes for the truth.

He eventually looked away and Padmé felt a hot flush course through her body.

"Very well. You should return to your room, there is nothing you can do here. We will contact you if there are any changes."

Padmé felt as though she should tell him not to contact her, after all, who were Master Windu and Yoda to her? They were not her mentors, tutors, or anything else. But deep down she knew that she had to know. That her mind would not rest until she knew.

She nods and looks quickly to Talin and then to Master Mundi before licking her lips and smiling slowly.

"Yes, I will. Thank you," she mutters uncomfortably. She avoids their gazes as she pivots on her heel and walks away.

She only manages a few steps before she feels a hand grasp her wrist lightly. She looks down at the tanned fingers and turns, following the fingers up their arm and then to the concerned face of her minder.

"They will be fine Padmé," he mutters to her, his eyes conveying to her what his words cannot. "They have to be."

Padmé nods once again and tries to pull away but he doesn't let her go. She looks up at him quizzically but she sees a smile on his lips.

"Something else is bothering you."

Padmé looks at him for a moment. Since when did he know her so well? It was clear that, obviously, she was worried about Yoda and Windu but her main concern – and Gods, she felt so selfish for thinking such things – her main concerns, her thoughts were tunnelling past what was happening in the Temple and rushing out to somewhere that she did not know, to where Anakin was. To Obi-Wan, to Siri Tachi… She only wanted Anakin back with her right at that moment.

She shook her head, though, dispelling the thoughts and the pensive look that suddenly appeared on Talin's face.

"You have things you must do," she said with a small smile. "Do not concern yourself with my fickle thoughts."

Talin stared at her for long moments and Padmé thought he was never going to look away. The spell was interrupted when a young Padawan coming out and telling Talin that Barriss needed him.

Padmé flushed instantly as Talin turned back to her. Somehow, she'd managed to grasp his other hand and she quickly pulled away from him.

"Go," she said sternly as he looked at her once more and Talin nodded reluctantly.

"I shall speak with you in a few hours," he told her and Padmé knew that he would.

She watched as he walked away into the healer's ward completely and wondered why she still felt a strange tingle in her hands where his fingers had been.

---

"Do you feel that, Skywalker?"

Anakin didn't look at her, knew that he couldn't. What was she doing to him? Why was she doing this?

Images of Padmé with another man, a man that Anakin, unfortunately recognised as one of the healer's at the Jedi Temple, had assaulted him for the last hour or so and he didn't think he could take much more. It had started simple enough. It had been conversations in the Room of a Thousand fountains, and then it had escalated to images of them in bed together, doing things that Anakin wished he could be doing with Padmé, then images of her marriage to the healer on Varykino. He had known that the last few images were fake, they just didn't feel real. But the others, those had felt far too real to be a simple mind warp.

He actually felt his fingers tingling the way that Padmé's had been in his vision. What did this mean?

He didn't want to believe it.

The woman traced her fingers lightly over his hands where they were tingling and he shivered under her touch. Why was _she _having this effect on him? He stared into her black eyes and was instantly captured. She advanced towards him, her fingers tracing over his chest and he jerked back. He shouldn't be feeling these things. He should be thinking about Padmé, about escaping this place, of trying to get back his Force ability. But he couldn't. The woman took over his senses and he tried to crush the feeling.

It was all a mind warp of some kind. It had to be.

"Anakin…"

The voice was gentle. Much gentler than he remembered – except maybe when she'd helped him out in the shower and he wanted to run away and hide. Who was this woman? He'd dreamed of her the night before, when he'd eventually gotten to sleep. He was sure that he knew her. He was sure that the Force was trying to tell him something through his dreams.

He had thought he'd heard someone – or something – else being dropped into his cell in the middle of the night and his senses had picked up the stench of blood. But when she'd taken him from his prison, there seemed to be no one else there. But then, that didn't actually mean that there wasn't. Anakin had not exactly when scanning the area.

He followed her with his eyes as she circled him, her eyes studying every inch of his body and he felt himself reacting to the way that she bit into her own lip. Her eyes seemed to darken, if possible, and he knew he shouldn't be feeling like this.

"You're more powerful than you know…"

---

"_You're more powerful than you know…"_

_Soft lips descended onto his and his tongue duelled with hers for power. They both seemed so powerful, neither willing to concede to the other. She undid the chains that were holding his arm above his head and his fingers instantly dove into her hair, pulling her face to him, deepening their kiss. He ran his hand down her face, over the curve of her body and pulled her into his lap._

_He hated only having the use of one arm. _

_There was a groan and neither knew who it was from as she brushed against a sensitive spot._

"_Anakin…"_

Padmé jerked up suddenly. She hadn't meant to fall asleep and now she wished she definitely hadn't. tears sprung to her eyes.

What was going on? Why was she having these visions? Why would her mind torture her like this?

She moved quickly to the sink in the 'fresher room and emptied the few contents of her stomach into the bowl. She heaved for a few minutes after it then looked up into the mirror. Her eyes were rimmed with dark circles and she looked gaunt.

Why was this happening to her?


	14. Part 13

**A/N: I am terribly sorry that it has taken me so long to update but my last exam has been and gon so the updates will be more regular :) Hope you enjoy this piece.**

Siri Tachi felt sick. Her stomach was still rolling as her head spun at the sudden emptiness of Force. Her eyes had yet to clear of the tears that had formed there a few hours before. She sniffed and tried not to blink. Too many tears had fallen and she didn't want to appear weak in front of Dooku.

He'd left the room she was being held in after he managed to pick himself up off the floor. He'd looked haunted, as though his soul had been ripped out and Siri could not imagine what it felt like for him: even though he'd left the Order, Yoda was still his master and the bond they shared was as strong as any other. No one had been in to see her, to torture her or taunt her since he left and Siri wondered what the Sith was going on.

She let her mind wander and she felt a few fluctuations, as though the Force was working on something but she couldn't follow the ripples. They were too distant and distorted. She felt Ferus tap into her mind and she tried to send comforting waves to him but she could feel his tension. As much as she had grown to like Ferus, he was still far too uptight for his own good. He was like Obi-Wan, always following the rules to a fault and it often landed him in trouble: he thought too much about his actions before he acted. It often frustrated her but she had always tried to be supportive.

She heard the door to her cell opening and she looked up but there was no one there. She frowned and struggled against the unbreakable bonds that were holding her in place. She looked up again and her frown only deepened.

"Ferus?"

Surely this was a mind game? How had Ferus gotten free from his own cell?

"Master," he replied with a nod as he moved towards the pedestal she was hovering over.

"How did you get out?" Siri followed him with her eyes as his fingers traced over the blank stone that was holding her in place. He looked up at her and Siri was taken aback by the dark circles under his eyes, the red rimmed sockets and the tear stains tracking down his dirty face. He had a large gash on his left temple and forehead and the blood was trickling down into his eye. She saw blood dripping from his awkwardly held arm and she wanted nothing more than to reach out to him and check his injuries. "What happened to you?" She asked with fear in her voice.

"There was a bang from outside my room somewhere and then the Force shield that was holding me disengaged and I fell to the floor." He looked down at his left arm. "I think I may have broken my arm in the fall."

Siri thought about this. Was that what she had felt the Force working on? Setting Ferus free? Surely not, for she knew that the Force never did that. Her eyes darted up to the door to see if anyone had come looking for the errant prisoner but there was no one there. She looked down at Ferus once more. He moved to a wall over in the corner and waved his hand over it in several places until a small console appeared. He turned to her and grinned unsteadily and she smiled encouragingly back.

"I think this is how to disengage it properly," he said with slight humour in his voice. She watched as he fiddled with a few buttons. She felt the restraints on her arms and legs unlock and she instantly pulled her hands in front of her, ignoring the cramp in her shoulders. "I… I'm sorry if I don't… If you fall," he muttered quietly and Siri felt her heart constrict at seeing him so broken.

She felt herself being slowly lowered to the floor and her knees buckled under her weight. Ferus was by her side in an instant. She picked herself back up with the help of her Padawan and she stretched out her muscles. She could feel survival instinct kick in instantly and she ushered Ferus to the wall by the door.

"Was there many guards outside?" She asked as she ducked her head out of the door and looked up and down the empty corridor.

Ferus shook his head.

"There was no one at all."

Siri looked back at him and she could see the confusion in his eyes as he too looked out of the door. They shared a long look and then moved out into the corridor, making as little noise as possible. The building they were in was very modern and impeccably clean considering the dusty planet that Geonosis was.

"This is all very… concerning," Siri muttered and she saw Ferus nod from the edge of her vision.

They walked in silence for a few more minutes, winding through hallways that were as empty as the ones before. They were entirely reliant on the Force to guide them to wherever it was that they were going. They shared few whispered words as they walked through the halls that had suddenly become dark. They trampled on things they couldn't see and they tried not to breathe in the stench of death. Something had happened on Geonosis and they wanted to know what it was.

---

Obi-Wan Kenobi really didn't think life could get much worse than it was right at that moment. He'd been stripped naked and was standing in the middle of a room, his arms held above his head with invisible restraints while his captor simply stared at him with dark, lifeless eyes. He could feel her pushing images into his head, images of a dying Yoda, of an injured Windu, of him and Siri doing things that were entirely unbecoming of Jedi. He knew it was all fake but when she had shown him Yoda lying in a life-pod with Padmé hovering over him, he's had the strange sense that it was real.

She'd blocked his Force use, probably with the thick metal clamp that was now around his neck. He could feel the weight straining against his neck, pulling him forward and all he wanted to do was sit on the hard floor and give his legs a rest.

He'd been hung up for hours, how many he didn't know. His captor alternated between leaving him in the dark for an hour, or the light, or in silence, or with noise or with her eyes burning holes into his flesh.

He was only thankful that she wasn't beating him. His body still ached from the last one with the white eyed fiend. He locked eyed with her once again and felt a chill run through his body.

"You're much quieter than your companion," she murmured as she circled him once again. He felt her finger trace over the small of his back and he jerked away from her touch.

"I have no companion."

She came back around to his front and stood directly in front of him, with her eyes boring into his.

"I beg to differ," she murmured again, her eyes unyielding. "He's quite the talker, your Padawan."

Obi-Wan felt his heart stop. He watched as his captor turned her back to him and he closed his eyes and attempted to kick start his heart. She had Anakin? Surely not. She had to be riling him up. Using Anakin as a means to get him to say something. When he opened his eyes, he found hers once again staring into his soul.

It wasn't the first time that his eyes had scoured over her body. He noted again the two lightsabers attached to her belt and he wondered where she got them from, how much she knew of the Force. Had she really managed to overpower Anakin and keep him captured?

Or maybe even kill him?

He shook his head.

"I don't believe you."

It sounded weak even to his ears but he didn't know what else to do.

He saw her smirk as she waved her hand at the door and it slid open. His eyes instantly flew to entryway but there was nothing there. He'd half expected Anakin to come wandering in. What he didn't expect though, was for his Padawan's lifeless body to slide across the floor to the palm of his captor's hand. His eyes rooted onto his unconscious – dead? – Padawan. He certainly _looked_ alive.

His eyes snapped up to hers once more as he saw her black blade ignite and place itself dangerously close to Anakin's throat.

He gulped. She smirked.

"Now, will you tell me what it is I want to know?"

---

Siri Tachi stood rooted to the spot, her hands held up in the air. What the Sith was going on?

White armoured body's lined every inch of surface in one of the larger halls in the cavern they had been captured in. And currently, all of those white armoured body's were pointing a blaster and her and her Padawan.

Her eyes roved over the apparent Army and she felt her heart begin to pick up pace after it had stopped and almost jumped out of her mouth. She saw a small head bobbing over the top of the others and her eyes instantly focused on it.

She had to say, that the shape of the body looked strikingly familiar. Identical to the bodies they had seen on Kamino. She watched as the tall, lithe figure walked to the fore of the army and the black eyes stared at her.

"We had hoped to find you," the white alien finally spoke and Siri looked to Ferus.

He had the same dazed looked in his eyes that she was sure was in hers.

What the _Sith _was going on?


End file.
